Roger Clemens

Midway through the 1985 season, however, Clemens's career was already in danger of being derailed. His shoulder began hurting so much that he could barely lift his pitching arm. Clemens underwent surgery, removing cartilage near his rotator cuff. While some feared that his career might be over, others, like Red Sox pitching coach Bill Fischer speculated that the injury might actually have been a blessing in disguise, scaring Clemens into focusing and working even harder. Fischer told Newsday "Maybe it's that arm injury that left him so determined to get the best out of himself. Maybe it scared him to work even harder. A lot of people have athletic ability. But very few make use of every ounce of it the way he does."