ANAHEIM -- It might have been a joke when Garrett Richards took a faux-curtain call to applause from his teammates as he walked off the field at Angel Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but there was no denying his accomplishment was significant.
Richards threw off a mound for the first time since suffering a right elbow ligament injury in early May. It was only 20 pitches, all fastballs, and only at around 80 percent effort, but it was another significant step forward for a pitcher who's become increasingly more confident he will pitch in 2017.
"As of right now, throwing off the bump today and doing everything I've done up to this point, there's no doubt in my mind that I'll be able to throw next year," Richards said.