By Peter Gammons



David Price looks in the rearview mirror of his 2017 season and says, “this has been the most trying year of my career.”



This is a man who went to spring training at age 31, had started 107 games and thrown 753 innings, including post-seasons, in the previous three years. Throughout this season with the Boston Red Sox, he fought through elbow and forearm discomfort, twice spent time on the disabled list, wondered about surgery and his future, and headed to October as a reliever who made 11 starts and pitched a total of 72 innings.



The challenges began in spring training when he traveled around the country for medical examinations on his aching pitching elbow. He returned on May 29, and for seven starts, beginning on June 13, he won five games and allowed a total of 13 earned runs, including a shutout of the New York Yankees on July 16. Vintage Price. Then, in his next outing, he felt the pain in his forearm that would sideline him...