Five years after breaking into professional baseball as a 21st-round draft pick, Rusty Tucker is trying to complete his long journey back to the point he reached three years ago.

He’s also hoping that point won’t be his career zenith.

“I was right on the doorstep in San Diego and then I was down,” said the former University of Maine star who was projected as the Padres’ closer-in-waiting two years after being drafted. “I went from having a lot of success to struggling just like that. It’s been quite a roller coaster ride for me.”

It’s a ride the Gloucester, Mass., native would have preferred never getting on. He didn’t have much choice, however as fate made its presence felt in a big way in the form of a tear in his left elbow’s ulnar collateral ligament as he delivered a pitch on Aug. 7, 2003.

A week later, Tucker had “Tommy John” reconstructive surgery which replaced his ligament with one taken from his right forearm. Instead of being a San Diego September call-up in 1993, the lefthander spent the month damaged, disabled, and devastated.

Going from being a Major League Baseball organization’s top prospect and a member of a 40-man roster to a minor league free agent in the space of two years hasn’t been without its unexpected pluses.

“This has been good for me in that [the injury] forced me to become a pitcher and not just a thrower, going mainly with fastballs and getting people out,” Tucker said. “And that will help me in the future.”

Yes, the future. The 26-year-old lefthander uses that word with optimism these days instead of the pessimism it accompanied not too long ago.

“There have been times, especially my first year back and last with San Diego, that I thought about giving up,” Tucker admitted.

Even after being waived so the Padres could use his 40-man roster spot for newly signed free agent catcher Mike Piazza, Tucker remained upbeat.

“I understand why they did it, and they still wanted me, but they had to put me on waivers and the White Sox claimed me before I could clear,” he said.

Even though his stint with Chicago was both fleeting and frustrating, Tucker thinks it was actually the best possible thing for him.

“Chicago claimed me a week before spring training and assigned me to Double A [Birmingham, Ala.],” he recalled.

His coaches decided to tinker with Tucker’s delivery, but the results were disappointing.

“Basically, I’m a pretty drastic drop and drive kind of pitcher now. Some of that may be due to the surgery I had, but I think a lot of it has to do with wear and tear on the arm over the years,” said the 6-foot-1 Tucker. “Chicago tried to change me to standing tall and throwing downhill, but it wasn’t natural for me. I lost a lot of velocity and control.”

Tucker was released in mid-June, signed by Boston days later, and assigned to Double-A Portland.

“The first team to show interest was Boston. They said they were prepared to make an offer in the next 24 hours,” Tucker recalled. “It was hard to refuse an offer from the team I grew up rooting for.”

That wasn’t the only bonus. Tucker found himself back in Maine, almost halfway between his hometown and the town he attended college in.

“Yeah, and since I’ve been here, I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress under [Portland pitching coach] Ace Adams as far as keeping my shoulder closed. That’s really helped my control,” Tucker said. “I really feel like now I’m getting back to where I was before I got hurt.”

Velocity-wise, he’s still not completely back, but his fastball has gone from 86 to 90 miles per hour at the start of this season to between 88 and 92 now. Before the injury, he threw between 94 and 97 and topped out occasionally at 99 on the radar gun.

“A couple miles per hour doesn’t sound like much, but it makes a tremendous difference as far as reaction times for hitters,” Tucker explained. “If I missed before, they’d jump all over it, but now I don’t have to be perfect every time.”

Tucker’s not looking for perfection. The goal is consistency.

“This is my second full season back from Tommy John surgery and everyone says it takes at least two years to get fully back,” said Tucker. “Now it’s about throwing quality pitches night after night. I’m getting there.”

Tucker is 0-2 with two saves and a 3.65 ERA in 20 appearances since joining Portland. He has allowed 26 hits and 15 walks in 24 2/3 innings, but has allowed no runs over his last eight innings pitched.

As he works on his consistency and developing a changeup to go with his fastball and curve, Tucker remains optimistic and hopes he’s found a home after changing his socks from white to red.

“I hope so. I think I’ve made big strides,” said Tucker. “I’m a free agent at the end of the season and I’m hoping to finish strong and show them I can get back to where I was before.

“I couldn’t imagine actually pitching for the Red Sox, but this is great just to have this opportunity to be so close to Boston and one or two steps from the majors. I grew up a member of Red Sox nation and to pitch for my favorite team would be a dream come true.”

Andrew Neff can be reached at 990-8205, 1-800-310-8600 or at aneff@bangordailynews.net