Athletes - Tommy John

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	Athletes - Tommy John

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 5th highest total among lefthanders in major league history. He is also notable for the revolutionary surgery, now named for him, which was performed on a damaged ligament in his pitching arm.

Playing career

Tommy John was originally signed by the Cleveland Indians, getting his major league start in 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 1968, 1978, 1979, and 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 and never did win a championship.

In the 1974 season, Tommy John permanently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm and a revolutionary surgical operation was performed. 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 1975 season in recovery and returned to the Dodgers in 1976. John went on to pitch until 1989, winning 164 games after his surgery—one fewer game than all-time great Sandy Koufax won in his career. After Phil Niekro's retirement, John spent 1988 and 1989 as the oldest player in the major leagues. Today, many pitchers have Tommy John surgery during their careers.

Teams

Cleveland Indians (1963-1964)
Chicago White Sox (1965-1971)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1972-1974, 1976-1978)
New York Yankees (1979-1982, 1986-1989)
California Angels (1982-1985)
Oakland Athletics (1985)

Career statistics

Miscellaneous statistical rankings

Tommy John has an impressive record but has yet to be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Selected rankings in comparison to current Hall of Fame members:

; Winning percentage from 1972 to 1980 (minimum of 110 decisions): # .684 (130-60) – Tommy John # .677 (88-42) – Don Gullett # .633 (162-94) – Jim Palmer ◊

; Wins from 1977 to 1980: # 81-43 – Steve Carlton ◊ # 80-35 – Tommy John # 76-28 – Ron Guidry

; Earned run average from 1974 to 1981 (minimum 1,400 innings pitched): # 2.83 – Tom Seaver ◊ # 2.88 – Jim Palmer ◊ # 2.97 – Steve Carlton ◊ # 3.01 – Tommy John

; Walks per nine innings from 1971 to 1983 (minimum 2,100 innings pitched)): # 1.94 – Ferguson Jenkins ◊ # 2.11 – Tommy John # 2.23 – Don Sutton ◊ # 2.24 – Catfish Hunter ◊

◊ denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Tommy John ]

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