Ever try playing golf with a wrist so painful that it hurt like crazy even at the slightest movement?

Or the same with hockey or bowling. Tennis anyone?

Jayson Werth plays baseball for a living and his left wrist became so painful that he seriously thought about retiring.

 That was in 2006. He missed the entire season because of a sore left wrist.

"I tried everything,'' he said, "and nothing worked. I couldn't go on.

"I seriously thought about retiring.''

That was then; this is now. Tonight, Werth will step into the batter's box as a member of the defending world champion Philadelphia Phillies, who are playing the New York Yankees in the World Series.

That Werth is playing tonight is remarkable and that he's playing at such a high level, a miracle.

He hit 36 home runs and drove in 99 runs this year and was named to the National League All-Star team for the first time. In the National League Championship Series clinching 10-4 win over the Dodgers, Werth hit a pair of home runs.

He's come a long way.

In 2005 he thought his career was coming to an end. His average had slipped to .234 with only seven home runs. In spring training of that year, he was hit in the wrist by a pitch. At first, doctors thought Werth had suffered torn ligaments but it never healed and eventually he underwent surgery.

Nothing worked.

"They said I would be out two weeks and that became two months,'' Werth said. "It only got worse after surgery.

"There were no answers.''

Werth left the Dodgers in the middle of the 2006 season and went to his Springfield, Ill., home not knowing what to do next.

One day Werth went to get the mail, where he met a neighbor friend who suggested a visit to the Mayo Clinic.

That was in August.

"I saw (orthopedic surgeon) Dr. (Richard) Berger,'' Werth said, "and the next day had surgery.''

Werth was suffering from a split tear in his ulnotriquetal ligament.

That's the kind of tear Berger discovered eight years ago. He has pioneered subsequent treatment, sometimes with surgery.

Berger said Werth's injury and others like it have never been detected because it involves a lengthwise split of the ligament instead of a complete tear. He compared it to a bratwurst cooking on the grill, where the casing splits.

"With this type of injury you never lose the stability of the wrist,'' said Berger, "but it is extremely painful. Those who do a lot of twisting and turning of the wrist are vulnerable.''

Berger can usually offer a diagnosis within five minutes of an examination and that was true in the case of Werth. He had surgery the next day.

And word gets out. Berger, a Clinic doctor for 20 years, has performed the same surgery on a number of athletes, including NHL players and pro golfers.

There's a 95 percent success rate.

"Maybe we should have a name for it, you know something like the Tommy John had for his,'' Berger chuckled.

Werth, now rich, would gladly agree.

He is in the middle of a two-year, $10 million contract with the Phillies and has repeatedly said through interviews that he owes his career to Mayo Clinic and specifically Richard Berger.

The feeling is mutual.

"I sent Jayson a note congratulating him on getting into the playoffs,'' said Berger, who will be rooting for the Phillies in the World Series. "I've always told him to give me a call if there's any problem.

"So far, no calls, and that's good news.''

Paul Christian and Craig Swalboski of the Post-Bulletin try to give readers a perspective they can't get elsewhere each week in their "view from the press box.

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