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‘Forever grateful’ for Phillies fans, Roman Quinn is running at a blazing speed again

Roman Quinn is looking to continue his career. (Gavin Baker/Icon Sportswire)

Before Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi and assistant athletic trainer Shawn Fcasni could carry him back to the dugout at Tropicana Field last May, Roman Quinn knew that he had torn his left Achilles, and that his 2021 season would be over.

Even the uber-positive Quinn wondered whether the latest in a pretty lengthy line of injuries might be a career-ender.

“The recovery is going really well. It’s going a lot better than I expected it to go,” Quinn told Phillies Nation in a phone interview Monday. “I remember when the injury happened, the first thought that came into my head was like ‘Man, I might be done.'”

After every injury he’s suffered in his career, Quinn has given himself a few days to dwell on the bad luck he’s had staying healthy since the Phillies selected him in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft.

As most people celebrated Memorial Day, Quinn went through the process of feeling depressed about his 2021 season being over, and wondering whether it was worth it to continue to put himself — both physically and mentally — through the rigors of being a professional athlete.

But like always, Quinn came out on the other end determined to bounce back, thanks in large part to his support group.

“I had people in my corner in my wife and my family. And my faith was just bigger than baseball,” Quinn said. “There’s a lot of people in my neighborhood that look up to me — a lot of kids that look up to me. So I did whatever I could to put myself in a position to come back and play this year. And I feel really well. I feel close to 100%. I’m back running like I was before, which is good.”

Of course, Quinn’s most valuable trait as a player is his speed. It allows him to wreak havoc on the basepaths, and play all three outfield positions. During the 2020 season, his 30.5 sprint speed was the second quickest recorded by Statcast. If a second Achilles tear — he suffered the same injury to his right Achilles in 2013 — robbed Quinn of his world-class speed, that might have ended his baseball career.

But while the 28-year-old admitted that he was a bit nervous to be clocked running for the first time after suffering this injury, he said he is now running as quickly as he was previously and feels like the injury never happened.

“I know for a fact [that I’m running at that level again], because every sprint that I do and every sprint that I’ve done in the past with the guys that I work with, we have those numbers on hand.

“I knew I was at a good point [when I was] maybe five months out, and he [his personal trainer] wanted to time me running 40 yards. And five months out, I ran a 4.5 [second] 40-yard dash. And I was like ‘Yeah, OK. I’m gonna be OK.'”

Quinn is a free agent after spending parts of five seasons with the Phillies. The Phillies designated Quinn — who had no remaining minor-league options — for assignment in November to make room for reliever Yoan López, who had been claimed off of waivers. After Quinn cleared waivers himself, he elected free agency.

The 28-year-old says he understands how much of a business baseball is, so he wasn’t surprised by the Phillies’ decision to move on. With Major League Baseball’s lockout more than a month old now, the business side of the sport hasn’t been more apparent in quite some time.

Quinn said that he and his agent — Reggie Jefferson of Reynolds Sports Management — had heard from a couple teams prior to the lockout beginning in early December. The speedster is doing all of his baseball activities already, and is hopeful that whenever the lockout ends, he’ll be ready to play in spring training games for a new team.

And regardless of what the future holds, Quinn is thankful for his time in Philadelphia.

“I’m just forever grateful for the Phillies fans. For the 10 years that I was with the Phillies, they showed love. So, I love the city. And it will forever be a second home to me. So I’m forever grateful for the fans, and all the support and all the love that they have given me and my family over these past 10 years.”