Tommy John

Infobox MLB retired
name=Tommy John
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1943|5|22
city-state|Terre Haute|Indiana
debutdate=September 6
debutyear=by|1963
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
finaldate=May 25
finalyear=by|1989
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=Win-Loss record
stat1value=288-231
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.34
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=2,245
teams=
* Cleveland Indians (by|1963-by|1964)
* Chicago White Sox (by|1965-by|1971)
* Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1972-by|1974, by|1976-by|1978)
* New York Yankees (by|1979-by|1982, by|1986-by|1989)
* California Angels (by|1982-by|1985)
* Oakland Athletics (by|1985)
highlights=
* 4x All-Star selection (1968, 1978, 1979, 1980)
* 1981 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
* 1976 Hutch Award
* 1976 NL Comeback Player of the Year

Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22 1943 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career victories rank as the 7th highest total among lefthanders in major league history. He is also known for the revolutionary surgery, now named after him, which was performed on a damaged ligament in his pitching arm.

Playing career

An outstanding basketball player at Gerstmeyer High School in Terre Haute, where he held the city single game scoring record, Tommy John was originally signed by the Cleveland Indians, getting his major league start in by|1963. Of his 26-year major league career, he is best remembered for his seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s. He made appearances in the All-Star Game in by|1968, by|1978, by|1979, and by|1980. He played in all three Yankees vs. Dodgers World Series of his era (1977, 1978 and 1981), but was on the losing end of all three, having switched over to the Yankees by the time the Dodgers took the Series in 1981. John never played on a major league championship team.

In the middle of the by|1974 season, John was cruising along with a 13-3 record as the Dodgers were en route to their first National League pennant in eight years, before he permanently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm, leading to a revolutionary surgical operation. This operation, now known as Tommy John surgery, replaced the ligament in the elbow of his pitching arm with a tendon from his right forearm. The surgery was performed by Dr. Frank Jobe on September 25, 1974, and although it seemed unlikely he would ever be able to pitch again, he spent the entire by|1975 season in recovery and returned to the Dodgers in by|1976. His 10-10 record that year was considered "miraculous" but John went on to pitch until by|1989, winning 164 games after his surgery—one fewer game than all-time great Sandy Koufax won in his entire career. After Phil Niekro's retirement, John spent by|1988 and 1989 as the oldest player in the major leagues. Today, many pitchers have Tommy John surgery during their careers.

Still, he decided it was time to retire in 1989, when Mark McGwire got two hits off him. McGwire's father was John's dentist. John said of his decision, "When your dentist's kid starts hitting you, it's time to retire!"

Managerial career

On December 17, 2006, John was named manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League, an independent minor league in the Northeast.

Broadcasting career

John did commentary on select games during WPIX's final year of broadcasting Yankee baseball in 1998. He also guest hosted the Mike and Mike ESPN Radio program on June 26, 2008. It is unknown whether he will do any further work for the network.

Personal life

Tommy married the former Sally Simmons on July 13, 1970. They are parents of four children (Tamara, Tommy III, Travis, and Taylor).

Career statistics

Bibliography

*"The Tommy John Story", F.H. Revell Company, 1978. ISBN 0-8007-0923-3. (With Sally John and Joe Musser, foreword by Tommy Lasorda.)
*"The Sally and Tommy John Story: Our Life in Baseball", Macmillan, 1983. ISBN 0-02-559260-2. (With Sally John.)
*"TJ: My Twenty-Six Years in Baseball", Bantam, 1991. ISBN 0-553-07184-X. (With Dan Valenti.)

ee also

* Tommy John surgery
* List of Major League Baseball leaders in career wins
* MLB All-Time Hit Batsmen List
* Top 100 strikeout pitchers of all time
* Chicago White Sox all-time roster

External links

*baseballstats|br=j/johnto01 |fangraphs=1006515 |cube=J/tommy-john
* [http://www.thebaseballpage.com/players/johnto01.php The Baseball Page]
* [http://www.tommyjohn.net]