When new Nationals reliever Erik Tolman pitches, you immediately notice a couple of things. The first is his upper 90’s velocity from the left side which has overwhelmed big league hitters so far. When you look down though, you see a black brace that goes up to the middle of his calf. That brace tells you a lot about Erik Tolman’s story.
Back in 2023, Erik Tolman was on the comeback trail after a second Tommy John Surgery. He jumped over the baseline like he had hundreds of times before. However,
this time his leg got caught in the turf field. He tried to catch himself, but bang, his knee exploded. Tolman suffered a catastrophic injury where he fully blew out his knee and tore his hamstring off the bone.
There was a point where doctors thought they might have to amputate the leg. That did not end up happening. One thing Erik Tolman told himself a lot during his recovery was “it could always be worse”. Despite the severe injury, the knee and hamstring did eventually heal with surgeries and time.
However, one thing did not heal. Tolman’s peroneal nerve was ruptured and he lost all feeling in his foot. Due to this, Tolman suffers from foot drop. When he does physical activities, he has to wear an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). That is that big black brace he wears on the mound.
I know a thing or two about AFO’s myself. Like Tolman I also wear an AFO due to a surgery to remove a tumor that impacted my peroneal nerve. Before I talked to Tolman in the clubhouse, I showed him my brace, which he took an interest in.
Tolman started talking about how he found the right brace, and it is remarkable how similar our stories are. He told me that he started off by just looking on Amazon for cheaper braces. However, after talking to his trainer, he went to the Hanger Clinic to find a brace that worked for him. Ironically, I also went to the Hanger Clinic to find my brace.
I went through a lot of different AFO’s trying to find something that worked for me. The AFO I initially got was too big and bulky. After consulting with the Hanger Clinic, we downsized and found something that I have been wearing for about five years now.
Tolman went through a similar process. He told me that he has about five braces at home and all of them are different from the one he uses during the game. Finding the perfect AFO is a lot like finding the perfect pitching mechanics. It takes a lot of trial and error to find something that is just right for you.
The 27 year old Tolman has found something that works for him, and that AFO has helped him come back stronger than ever. Despite all of the injuries, Tolman is actually throwing harder than ever and his mechanics are better than ever. Luckily for Tolman, his AFO is on his front leg, so there are no problems with balancing on his plant leg.
Tolman said that the AFO and foot drop do not impact him mechanically at all. In fact, his time away from the game and that rehab process made his mechanics better. He implored me to watch his mechanics in college compared to now. Tolman felt as though they have improved leaps and bounds.
At first, Tolman was not sure if he was going to be able to play again or even walk again. However, once he realized a return was on the table, he was all in. The lefty told me he was thinking, “If I can pitch on it, I can do this”. On a New Year’s Day drive from California to Arizona, he made the full commitment that he was going to do whatever it took to come back.
Tolman came back in 2025, going from Low-A to Double-A in a season. Armed with his AFO and cannon of a left arm, Tolman’s stuff was as good as ever. His command woes pushed him to a bullpen role this season. Before his call-up, Tolman was a fixture in the Rochester bullpen where he showed dominant stuff, but again struggled with command.
In the big leagues though, he has made some tweaks and is pounding the strike-zone. That was on full display last night, when Tolman saved the day and prevented another bullpen meltdown. He entered the game in the 8th inning with the bases loaded and nobody out. A strikeout and a double play later, he was out of the inning. Tolman came back out for the 9th and struck out the side to secure his first career save.
There was a point where all of this felt impossible. After his second Tommy John Surgery, Tolman told me that he considered retiring before being talked out of it. Then he had a leg injury so bad, he had to re-learn how to walk. He still cannot move his foot side to side, something I can relate to.
Instead of quitting, he got back on the mound and his stuff got nastier. Tolman’s fastball just explodes out of his hand and his changeup just dives right off that. He may not be able to feel the top of his foot, but hitters bats could not feel the baseball much last night.
For folks like myself who have drop-foot and have to wear an AFO, Tolman is an inspiration. I remember those drives out to the Hanger Clinic to get my brace fitted just right. It is inspiring to think Erik Tolman did the same thing and is now dominating on a big league mound.
