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Former major league pitcher Tommy John, the namesake behind the pioneering elbow surgery that prolonged his career for 14 more years, died Saturday at the age of 83, the New York Yankees said in a statement.
John died at his home in Bradenton, Florida. A cause of death was not given, but he had battled bladder cancer and other ailments in recent years.
“The New York Yankees mourn the passing of Tommy John, who was a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans,” the team said in its statement. “While his incredible longevity and post-surgery achievements changed the fortunes and trajectory of countless athletes around the world, it also overshadowed his excellence as a pitcher, which included consecutive 20 win seasons with the Yankees.
“We pause to remember the totality of his legacy — his competitiveness and skill, his penchant for conversation, his kind and gracious nature, and his stature as an athletic and medical pioneer. The Yankees extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
John shared a vague message about his health after missing the Yankees’ Old-Timers Day on Aug. 8, saying that he wanted to say goodbye to everyone, along with all the friends and fans who followed him throughout his 26-year career.
“I will never forget you,” John said in his message posted to social media.
After suffering what had been up to then considered a career-ending injury, John, then 31, underwent ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on his left (pitching) elbow in 1974, with the revolutionary procedure being performed by Dr. Frank Jobe. The procedure was named after John and has since become commonplace, performed on thousands of players — not just pitchers — with a typical recovery time of a year to 18 months.
John, a four-time All-Star nicknamed “The Bionic Man,” went on to pitch for 14 more seasons after the surgery.
John had 124 wins in 355 games at the time of the procedure. He pitched in 405 more games, winning 164, and finishing with a career record of 288-231 with a 3.34 ERA in 760 career appearances. Besides eight seasons with the Yankees, for whom he won 91 games over two separate stints, John pitched for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, Cleveland Indians and Oakland Athletics.
“Thanks to Dr. Jobe, who saved my arm & made it possible for me to continue pitching,” John said in his post on Aug. 8. “That surgery has since gone on to save the careers of countless pitchers, including many of the very best in the game today.”
In this 1979 file photo, New York Yankee’s pitcher Tommy John delivers during a baseball game. To some, John is best known for the surgery that carries his name. (AP Photo/File)
Some of those “very best” that are currently pitching include Shohei Ohtani, Tarik Skubal, Justin Verlander, Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom (twice).
Jobe once told ESPN that he estimated that the odds of success for John’s surgery was one in a hundred. These days, approximately 80% of pitchers manage to return to their previous level of success or higher, according to highly renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Neal ElAttrache, who is the lead physician for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“He realized that the options were to go back to Terre Haute, Indiana, or to have the operation, with a high risk of failure,” Jobe told ESPN in 2003.
In 2024, the American Medical Association estimated that roughly 35% of active major league pitchers had Tommy John surgery at some point in their career.
Drafted by Cleveland in 1961 at the age of 18, John first pitched in the majors in 1963. After being traded to the White Sox in 1965, John got his first All-Star nod in 1968, when he finished fifth in the American League with a 1.98 ERA. Four seasons later, he was traded to the Dodgers and led the National League in winning percentage in 1973 and 1974, when he suffered the UCL injury.
John reached the World Series three times during his career — twice with the Dodgers (1977, ’78) and once with the Yankees (1981) — and compiled a 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings in games he pitched, but he never won a championship, losing, ironically, to the Dodgers or Yankees on all three occasions.
He won 20 games in a season on three occasions — going 20-7 with the Dodgers in 1977, 21-9 with the Yankees in 1979 and 22-9 with the Yankees in 1980. John was named to the All-Star Game in three consecutive seasons from 1978 to 1980, compiling a combined 60-28 mark with a 3.22 ERA over 754 2/3 innings over that span.
Both John and Jobe were honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2013 for their contributions to the sport.
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