WHO IS TOMMY JOHN?
Tommy John, who turned 70 in May, had 700 career starts and 760 appearances in 26 major-league seasons, making his debut in 1963 with the Cleveland Indians and his last appearance in 1989 for the New York Yankees. His name became synonymous with a pioneering surgery to repair his (left) pitching elbow halfway through his career. He had the surgery during the 1974 season, sat out the 1975 season and then returned and pitched 13 more seasons. He finished his career with a 288-231 record.
The situation: John, who was 13-3 at the time, was pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Montreal Expos on July 17, 1974 and recalled for CNN last year what happened: "I had runners on first and second. I was trying to get the batter to hit a sinker to get him to hit a ground ball so I could get two and get out of the inning unscathed. I threw a sinker and right as I threw, I felt this searing pain and the ball just blooped up to the plate and I went, 'Holy mackerel, what did I do?'"
The verdict: The Dodgers' orthopedic surgeon was Dr. Frank Jobe, and he told John if he didn't have surgery he would never pitch again. Just more than two months after the injury, he had the surgery Sept. 25.
The rehab: Pitchers today know it will be grueling and take at least one year. John told CNN that he initially had a "claw hand" and he had to have more surgery for nerve damage. It took 16 weeks to be able to throw again. "I threw the ball every single day except Sunday. My reasoning was that if God rested on Sunday, I thought Tommy John should, too."
John's explanation: He blames the overwork of pitchers as youngsters for the problem, saying too many throw year-round.
