{"id":2755,"date":"2026-08-19T15:41:28","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T15:41:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755"},"modified":"2026-08-19T15:41:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T15:41:28","slug":"the-incredible-baseball-life-of-tommy-john","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755","title":{"rendered":"The Incredible Baseball Life of Tommy John"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Tommy John won 288 games the old-time way with his brain as much as his two left elbows.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2753\">National Symphony Orchestra Won\u2019t Perform at the Kennedy Center This Season<\/a><\/p><p>When John passed away on Saturday at 83, the sports world remembered Tommy John surgery. That\u2019s the elbow ligament replacement operation performed on him in \u201974 by Dodgers team physician Frank Jobe. Before the knife, John <span><u>won<\/u><\/span> 124 games. After, he won 164 more, including all three of his 20-win seasons and all three of his trips to the World Series, where he had a 2.67 ERA.<\/p>\n<p>Now, about 36% to 39% of MLB pitchers <span><u>have had \u201cTJ surgery.\u201d<\/u><\/span> You miss a season, come back with a new elbow, which, on average, lasts eight years. It\u2019s a second life. You may throw a little worse than before, or better.<\/p><p>I\u2019m lucky. I remember Tommy John himself, one of my favorite players to chat with during the last decade-plus of his 26 seasons. John was funny, self-deprecating and loved by everyone. As his career victory total climbed but seemed destined to stop short of 300 wins and an almost inevitable invitation trip to Cooperstown, John never obsessed over whether he\u2019d make it. He\u2019d been mediocre for his first eight years and played for six teams. He\u2019d been released and once even retired to coach high school ball. Jobe told him the odds for success on his elbow surgery were \u201c1,000-to-1.\u201d Once, he asked to pitch for his friend\u2019s semi-pro team.<\/p>\n<section>\n<div>\n<h2>\n<span>Trending<\/span>\n<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Rep. Mike Haridopolos\" class=\"wp-image-2752\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/304aa5452b079e0ce295ee9e08d7ce19-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/304aa5452b079e0ce295ee9e08d7ce19-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/304aa5452b079e0ce295ee9e08d7ce19-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/304aa5452b079e0ce295ee9e08d7ce19.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Cory Mills\u2019 Downfall Came From Inside the House\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"AP26090547872320\" class=\"wp-image-2728\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4327131359a6b69b4ba9ab18ee172982-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4327131359a6b69b4ba9ab18ee172982-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4327131359a6b69b4ba9ab18ee172982-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4327131359a6b69b4ba9ab18ee172982.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Voters Are Ousting Longtime Incumbents. So Why Is No One Talking About Richard Neal?\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Scott Bessent\" class=\"wp-image-1141\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6f812b10366ab03ee3f1e2ca4100bfc0-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6f812b10366ab03ee3f1e2ca4100bfc0-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6f812b10366ab03ee3f1e2ca4100bfc0-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/6f812b10366ab03ee3f1e2ca4100bfc0.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      Nearly Half of Trump\u2019s Treasury Appointees Have Left\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-medium_large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"AP 26156030555794\" class=\"wp-image-2621\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/87a077dfcb70d7ca573eaa666531da14-768x512.jpg\" width=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/87a077dfcb70d7ca573eaa666531da14-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/87a077dfcb70d7ca573eaa666531da14-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/87a077dfcb70d7ca573eaa666531da14.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><h3>\n<span>\n                      The \u2018Body Guy Caucus&#8217;: The Lives of the Men and Women Paid to Shadow Senators\n                    <\/span>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>So, when he hung on late in his career it was because \u2026 you never know. At 43, he discovered lifting weights \u2014 every day, even on mornings when he would pitch that night. \u201cI discovered all those \u2018lat\u2019 muscles in the back below the shoulder,\u201d <span><u>he said<\/u><\/span>. \u201cI wasn\u2019t even using them.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cHe never threw hard, but now he\u2019s [back] throwing just as not-hard as he ever did,\u201d said Yankees bullpen coach Jeff Torborg.<\/p><p>At 44, John went 13-6 and led the pennant-contending Yankees in innings pitched. That year I asked him if this was a 300-win quest.<\/p><p>\u201cThe only thing that burns inside me,\u201d he said, \u201cis Szechuan food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Modesty was core to his upbringing in Terre Haute, Indiana. A multisport star in high school, John was recruited to go to national powerhouse Kentucky to play basketball. He was also valedictorian of his class. But he didn\u2019t give a graduation speech because of a stammer.<\/p><div>\n<\/div><p>Perhaps that led to some of his egoless affect as an adult. But that problem also fed into his passion for self-improvement. He eventually became one of the game\u2019s chatterbox tale-tellers.<\/p><p>Tommy John even liked to tell the truth. Asked about his repertoire, he said, \u201cI have a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup \u2014 as well as eight other illegal pitches.\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cCan I quote you?\u201d I asked him. Tommy just grinned his friendly, innocent, church deacon smile. Pitchers love hitters thinking they cheat.<\/p><p>Give John a ball with a scuff or scrape and he could make its gyroscope go on the fritz just before it got to the plate. Give him a perfect ball and \u2026 well \u2026 who knows what might befall it.<\/p><p>When pitcher Rick Rhoden was frisked by umps in search of sandpaper, John suggested that he leave notes in his glove for the umps that said, \u201cRight church. Wrong pew.\u201d Or: \u201cWarmer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>John\u2019s fastball never touched 90. But his pitching IQ may\u2019ve been twice that. He drove hitters crazy, especially as, with age, he seemed to be tossing batting practice.<\/p><p>The excellent Baltimore Oriole teams could seldom anticipate what, or where, his next pitch would be. He seemed to follow no pattern or logic. Most frustrating, he would get into jams, then escape by getting hitters to chase low pitches and hit grounders, often into double plays.<\/p><p>How did he do it?<\/p><p>\u201cYou can\u2019t write this until after I retire,\u201d John said. Then he explained that all pitchers and hitters focus on \u201cthe count.\u201d The strategy for the next pitch is usually based on that count. When pitchers get behind, like 2-0, 3-1 or 3-2, they want to avoid throwing another \u201cball\u201d and getting further behind.<\/p><p>Hitters get aggressive when they are \u201cahead in the count,\u201d especially with men on base. They think they\u2019ll get a more hittable pitch.<\/p><p>\u201cI subtract one ball from the count on the scoreboard,\u201d said John. \u201cIf it says \u20183-1\u2019 on the scoreboard, then it says \u20182-1\u2019 to me.<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2747\">DSA-Backed Challenger Upsets Alex Vindman in Florida\u2019s Democratic Senate Primary<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHow is the hitter going to \u2018think along with me\u2019 if he doesn\u2019t even know what the count is?\u201d<\/p><p>John did not think \u201cball three\u201d existed. For him, it was never more than two. So, he never \u201cgave in\u201d to the hitter. For him, every aim was at an edge or a few inches off it. He\u2019d start with \u201cstrike one,\u201d then you might never see another.<\/p><p>Because of his control, combined with the natural over-anxiousness of most hitters, plus his \u201csubtract one ball\u201d idea, John pitched hitters tougher, more to the edges or even off the edge, the more men got on base. The worse the jam, the more he counted on you to get yourself out.<\/p><p>\u201cThere\u2019s always a base open somewhere,\u201d said John, meaning that if he issued a walk, he\u2019d just apply his methods to the next hitter.<\/p><p>\u201cWhat if the bases are loaded and it\u2019s a 3-2 pitch?\u201d I asked. \u201cThen there\u2019s no \u2018open base.\u2019\u201d<\/p><p>\u201cHome plate is always open,\u201d John said.<\/p>\n<p>You might get a run with \u201cball four,\u201d but not two, three or four runs with one swing.<\/p><p>Sure, some could \u201cwait him out.\u201d Not many.<\/p><div>\n<\/div><p>Ironically, John\u2019s best-known pitch may be the one that was hit the furthest. In 1966, Tommy gave up Frank Howard\u2019s legendary upper-deck home run to center field in RFK Stadium, one of the longest home runs ever. The seat it hit was painted white. For years, players visiting D.C. would ask me, \u201cWhere was home plate then?\u201d \u201cRight where it is now,\u201d I\u2019d say. Few seemed to believe.<\/p><p>\u201cIt was a line drive. I almost jumped for it,\u201d John told me. Then John turned and claimed that he could \u201csee it rising.\u201d By the time he got to the dugout, he said he looked like a ghost. \u201cIf it had hit me, it would have killed me.\u201d<\/p><p>In the previous inning, John had hit a home run himself. He never mentioned that.<\/p><p>Among all pitchers, John may be the most overlooked for his accomplishments because he is remembered for his incredible dogged longevity and for his scar. But facts, especially in appreciations like this, are fine friends. <span><u>Since 1900<\/u><\/span>, John ranks seventh in starts, 14th in innings pitched and 18th in wins. Read that again.<\/p>\n<p>Twice, he was second for the Cy Young Award. Across 88.1 <span><u>postseason<\/u><\/span> innings, he was 6-3 with a 2.65 ERA. In 1968, he was an All-Star with a 1.98 ERA, using all original parts. His 3.34 <span><u>career ERA<\/u><\/span> tops Roy Halladay and Phil Niekro and is just behind Justin Verlander and John Smoltz. John: 26 seasons. The record: 27.<\/p><p>His Hall of Fame voting topped at 31%, far below the 75% needed. Why?<\/p><p>In part, it was because his self-deprecating personality and unflashy performance deflected attention. He only won 15 games five times \u2014 back when wins \u201cmattered.\u201d No-hitters: zero. Rings: none. Season leading the league in ERA, wins or strikeouts: none.<\/p><p>One year, he induced eight ground balls for every time he got a strikeout. In 700 starts, he only allowed 302 homers. You were safe in the bleachers, but he was death on worms in the infield dirt. Come see Tommy, and get bored.<\/p><p>In 1980, John won 22 games, his most ever, with 16 complete games, six shutouts and 265 innings. Take 20 guesses at his strikeout total: It was 78.<\/p><p>So, I\u2019m happy they named the darn surgery after Tommy John, instead of Dr. Jobe, even though he may have been a medical genius.<\/p><p>Plenty of people are in Cooperstown who will be almost entirely forgotten. But as long as pitchers grab their elbow and leave the mound disconsolate, fans\u2019ll say, \u201cHe\u2019ll probably make it back. Tommy John showed them all the way.\u201d<\/p><p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2745\">Cory Mills\u2019 Downfall Came From Inside the House<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The pitcher, who died last week, is remembered for a groundbreaking procedure. But he was much more than that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2754,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Incredible Baseball Life of Tommy John - Modern Home Journals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Incredible Baseball Life of Tommy John - Modern Home Journals\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The pitcher, who died last week, is remembered for a groundbreaking procedure. 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Tommy John surgery, like baseball itself, is evolving to increase success and sometimes speed return. 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But he was much more than that.","og_url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755","og_site_name":"Modern Home Journals","article_published_time":"2026-08-19T15:41:28+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":683,"url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/304aa5452b079e0ce295ee9e08d7ce19.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"headline":"The Incredible Baseball Life of Tommy John","datePublished":"2026-08-19T15:41:28+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755"},"wordCount":1437,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7ccf1dedc43b283980bc380be00c282b.jpg","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755","name":"The Incredible Baseball Life of Tommy John - Modern Home Journals","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7ccf1dedc43b283980bc380be00c282b.jpg","datePublished":"2026-08-19T15:41:28+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/#\/schema\/person\/533de239efc09a2ab59959cc1bff86d0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/?p=2755#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7ccf1dedc43b283980bc380be00c282b.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/modernhomejournals.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/7ccf1dedc43b283980bc380be00c282b.jpg","width":2139,"height":1426,"caption":"FILE - Lefthander Tommy John of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team before a game, Aug. 12, 1977, in Los Angeles. Tommy John surgery, like baseball itself, is evolving to increase success and sometimes speed return. 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