Brian Wilson: Why 2nd Tommy John Surgery Would Doom Closer's Career

San Francisco Giants closer Brian Wilson is lucky he is such an enjoyable person off the field, because his baseball career is in serious doubt.

According to Carl Steward of the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune and a bunch of other newspapers, Wilson's elbow problems aren't looking good. 

"

Brian Wilson has structural issues with elbow. Likely looking at surgery says Bochy. Will get second opinion. Will see Dr A ndrews

"

"— Carl Steward (@stewardsfolly) April 14, 2012"

Ruh roh. 

Now, I'm no doctor, but I know the words structural, issues, elbow, surgery, doctor and Andrews all in the same tweet is bad news.

Nay, very bad news. 

Wilson has already undergone Tommy John surgery before, although it was way back in 2003 right after the Giants drafted him out of LSU. 

Again, I'm no doctor, but I know two Tommy John surgeries are worse than one, no matter how far apart they come. 

This is sad news because Wilson, when healthy, is a dominating closer. 

He's recorded at least 35 saves in his last four seasons and has put up an ERA of under 3.15 in three of those. In 2009 and 2010, he struck out an amazing 176 batters in just 145 innings.

That's a K/9 ratio of 10.9.

But that could all be coming to an end, because returning from a second Tommy John surgery is a tall task, especially considering the velocity Wilson brings to the mound.

For most of his career, Wilson has relied on a fastball that averages just under 96 MPH. His only other major pitch, a slider, also has quite a bit of velocity on it. Essentially, he relied a lot more on making hitters swing and miss rather than painting the corners.

To come back from surgery with that same speed and velocity will be extremely tough for Wilson. If he wants to come back and be successful, he'll have to learn how to be more precise with his pitches.

For a closer, that's not always the best way to approach the game.

In other words, another surgery for Wilson is bad, bad news. 

But, hey, that's not to say he can't still be a part of our lives.

Wilson has the beard, he has the personality, and he has the acting skills. The 30-year-old has the unique ability to make most people laugh, and just because his future on the diamond is more bleak than ever, it doesn't mean he can't continue to make a career in entertainment. 

The elbow is hurt, but the beard is stronger than ever.