Up until now the story of the resurgence of New York Yankees' pitcher Bartolo Colon, whose career was left for dead midway through the 2009 season, has simply been a nice comeback tale. Now, though, the story of how Colon rebuilt his arm for his comeback has turned into a much bigger deal, and it might have him in hot water with Major League Baseball.
The New York Times reported that Dr. Joseph A. Purita used stem cells from Colon, injecting them back into his elbow and shoulder to repair ligament damage and a torn rotator cuff. Colon, 37, has thus far gone 2-1 with a 3.86 ERA.
Purita told the Times "this is not hocus pocus."
Question is, is baseball OK with it?
The treatment was performed in the Dominican Republic, according to the Times, and there appears to be some argument over the legality in the United States of treating a person with his own stem cells. A Major League Baseball spokesman said MLB is "looking into it."
It's About The Money has a much deeper look at the use of this type of stem cell therapy. When you are done with the Times piece, it is worth a look.