Wolf brings survival skills to the Dodgers

Randy Wolf had experienced this sinking feeling before. He told himself he’d survive, again, come out the other end stronger, again, be better than ever, again.

Surely his was the voice of experience.

His elbow felt as if shards of glass were embedded in the ligaments. His fastball was like an engine that had thrown a rod, sputtering and getting him nowhere.

It was time for action. He reminded himself of that blustery morning at County Line when he was 15 and following the crowd on a boogie board, into monster waves and serious trouble. He’d nearly drowned, tumbling and fighting for a single breath until the next breaker crashed.

Somehow he crawled to shore, and somehow this elbow pain was like that day minus the lungs full of saltwater.

Wolf, 30, a rotation fixture with the Philadelphia Phillies, had pitched in agony for more than a year, flailing on fumes while putting off the inevitable surgery and year-long rehabilitation, deteriorating from a live-armed All-Star to, in his words, “a guy known in the baseball world for pitching hurt.”

Maybe he kept at it because he’d learned to live with pain since he lost his father during his senior year at Woodland Hills El Camino Real High in 1994. Yes, Wolf knew all about pitching hurt. Anybody who watched him win the City Section championship game at Dodger Stadium two months after Jim Wolf died of a heart attack could attest to that.

He was stung again within days when he wasn’t drafted until the 25th round -- by the Dodgers -- despite being projected by Baseball America as a second-round pick. Teams shied away because Pepperdine had offered a full scholarship, and even hard-boiled scouts realized it might be better for Wolf to stay close to home so soon after losing his father.

The day before his first day of college the Dodgers upped their offer from $100,000 to $150,000, but Wolf didn’t bite.

“One thing I’m thankful for now is that I didn’t get drafted really high and get offered a ton of money,” he said. “My dad passed in late March, and a few months removed from that I could have been off in small towns, taking 10-hour bus rides. At 17, 18 years old, as mature as I thought I was, it would have been too much.”

So here he is 13 years later, finally a Dodger. And maybe, Wolf believes, the pain is behind him, physically and emotionally.

Isn’t that what signing a one-year deal to come to L.A. instead of returning to Philadelphia or going to the Chicago Cubs for more money and more security was all about?

“Maybe it’s some kind of closure,” he said. “I just wanted to come home. I’ve always wanted to pitch for the Dodgers and this was my chance. It was more important than money.”

After three seasons at Pepperdine, two in the minors and eight with the Phillies, Wolf will return to Dodger Stadium on a daily basis, and with a surgically repaired elbow. He will make the same drive on the 101 freeway that he and his father took to games, and Jim Wolf’s memory will ride shotgun in Randy’s pickup.

His mother, Judy, will be in the stands. He’ll still run across his brother, Jim, a major league umpire.

And his fastball is back, judging from early returns.

“He has more velocity than I expected,” catcher Russell Martin said. “He has a lot of knowledge. He throws his breaking ball at two different speeds, has a good changeup and can turn over his fastball to get different movement. He pretty much does whatever he wants with a baseball.”

Despite the long layoff, Wolf will begin his Dodgers career on a nine-game winning streak, the longest for the Phillies since Steve Carlton in 1980-81. Wolf won his last five decisions and had a 3.18 earned-run average in his last eight starts before the ligament-replacement surgery in June 2005. Then after sitting out 13 months, he was 4-0 in 12 starts last season.

It’s a testament to Wolf’s ability to grin and bear pain that no one could tell from his statistics when he was hurt and when he wasn’t.

The elbow pain began in 2002 when he opened the season on the disabled list, diagnosed with tendinitis. After a slow start, he posted a 2.64 ERA in his remaining 26 starts, finishing with 210 2/3 innings and 172 strikeouts.

The next season was even better. Wolf was 16-10, made the All-Star team and led National League left-handers in wins, strikeouts, innings and opponents’ batting average.

“It seemed like the pain was always there,” he said. “But in 2004 it got sharper and it was harder to grit through it. It was really hard to let go of the fastball. I felt like if I did, my arm would just fall off.”

Wolf spent nearly three weeks on the disabled list in June 2004 and sat out September, finishing with only five wins in 23 starts. Yet, doctors told him there was no tear in the ligament and that surgery should be a last resort.

Coincidentally, a filmmaker friend asked Wolf to help him with a documentary on elbow ligament-replacement surgery, commonly known as Tommy John surgery in honor of the first pitcher to have his career resurrected by it.

Wolf interviewed several pitchers who went through the procedure, including John Smoltz, A.J. Burnett, Cory Lidle and Tom Gordon.

“There were plenty of guys to talk to,” Wolf said. “They all said the same thing, that you come back feeling healthy again.”

He continued to follow his doctor’s advice, though, going through a rigorous rehabilitation program before the 2005 season in an effort to avoid surgery.

“It let me survive until June,” he said. “But after a game against the Diamondbacks, my arm bothered me. Then in my next start, against the Milwaukee Brewers, it was right back to feeling like it did in ’04. I was trying to get them out with magic.”

Who would have known looking at the box scores? Wolf beat the Diamondbacks, giving up two runs in seven innings for his fifth consecutive victory, and gave up three runs in six innings of a Phillies’ victory against the Brewers.

But he was tired of the pain. An MRI exam still didn’t show a tear in the ligament, but Dr. Lewis Yocum recommended surgery.

When Wolf made his first start in more than a year, his fastball had life and once again bore in on the hands of right-handed hitters. There was a problem, though. He couldn’t control it.

“It was frustrating and exciting at the same time,” he said. “I didn’t have command of my pitches. Everybody reminded me that basically I had a new arm and to give myself some time.”

The Phillies were contending for the wild-card berth, making Wolf impatient and competitive. Even though his 5.56 ERA was the highest of his career, the team won nine of his 12 starts.

He spent the off-season learning to harness his rebuilt arm. During workouts at El Camino Real, only a few minutes from his home in Calabasas, Wolf’s mind would drift back to Pepperdine, to high school, to his father.

“Every time something major happens in my life, I always think about my dad,” he said. “The day my brother got married, my major league debut, making the All-Star team, signing with the Dodgers.

“It kind of makes me sad but at the same time I’ve learned to appreciate what I do have more than ever. I appreciate my family and my friends, and the path I took to get here. I’m looking forward to feeling good.”

steve.henson@latimes.com