Tommy John

Tommy John
Tommy John
	John in 2008, attending a pre-All-Star game party in The Bronx.
	Pitcher
	Born: Thomas Edward John Jr.; May 22, 1943; Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S.
	Died: August 15, 2026 (aged 83); Lakewood Ranch, Florida, U.S.
Batted: Right	Threw: Left
MLB debut
	September 6, 1963, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
	May 25, 1989, for the New York Yankees
MLB statistics
Win–loss record	288–231
Earned run average	3.34
Strikeouts	2,245
Teams
	Cleveland Indians (1963 – 1964); Chicago White Sox (1965 – 1971); Los Angeles Dodgers (1972 – 1974), (1976 – 1978); New York Yankees (1979 – 1982); California Angels (1982 – 1985); Oakland Athletics (1985); New York Yankees (1986 – 1989);
Career highlights and awards
	4× All-Star (1968, 1978–1980);

Thomas Edward John Jr. (May 22, 1943 – August 15, 2026), nicknamed "the Bionic Man," was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. His 288 career victories rank as the seventh highest total among left-handed pitchers in Major League history.

The "Bionic Man" nickname stemmed from a 1974 incident. John's career was thought to have ended when he suffered a severe injury to his throwing elbow during that season. The Los Angeles Dodgers' team physician, Frank Jobe, performed a revolutionary operation in an attempt to save his career. While the operation had been performed on polio victims, it had never been attempted on an active athlete. A tendon was taken from John's right arm and attached to the ulna and humerus bones in his left elbow, replacing the torn ulnar collateral ligament. At the time of the surgery, Jobe estimated that John had a 1-in-100 chance of pitching again. John returned to pitching in 1976, suffering no further injury to his throwing elbow, and went on to win more games after the surgery than before it. The operation, known informally as Tommy John surgery, is now often performed on pitchers with damaged elbows. During the last years of John's life, it was estimated that the surgery had been performed at some time on about a third of Major League Baseball pitchers.

He played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, California Angels, and Oakland Athletics. He was a four-time MLB All-Star and has the second-most wins (288) of any pitcher since 1900 not in the Hall of Fame.

John died under hospice care in Lakewood Ranch, Florida on August 15, 2026 from bladder cancer at the age of 83.

References

↑ Ladson, Bill (August 16, 2026). "A look back at when Tommy John changed baseball history". MLB.com. Retrieved August 17, 2026. NB: The story was first published in 2024, and was published a second time after John's death.
1 2 Hoch, Bryan (August 16, 2026). "Tommy John, whose surgery blazed a trail for countless players, dies at 83". MLB.com. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
↑ Hoornstra, J.P. (August 16, 2026). "Former Angels pitcher, whose namesake surgery touched thousands, dies at 83". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 16, 2026.
↑ Madden, Bill (2026-08-16). "Tommy John, MLB comeback trailblazer, dead at 83". New York Daily News. Jersey City, New Jersey: Daily News Enterprises. ISSN 2692-1251. Retrieved 2026-08-16.
↑ Madani, Doha; Li, David K. (August 16, 2026). "Former MLB pitcher Tommy John dies at age 83". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2026. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

Other websites

Media related to Tommy John at Wikimedia Commons

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
Official website

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[1] Ladson, Bill (August 16, 2026). "A look back at when Tommy John changed baseball history". MLB.com. Retrieved August 17, 2026. NB: The story was first published in 2024, and was published a second time after John's death.

[Hoch-2] 1 2 Hoch, Bryan (August 16, 2026). "Tommy John, whose surgery blazed a trail for countless players, dies at 83". MLB.com. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

[3] Hoornstra, J.P. (August 16, 2026). "Former Angels pitcher, whose namesake surgery touched thousands, dies at 83". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 16, 2026.

[NY_Daily_News_Obit-4] Madden, Bill (2026-08-16). "Tommy John, MLB comeback trailblazer, dead at 83". New York Daily News. Jersey City, New Jersey: Daily News Enterprises. ISSN 2692-1251. Retrieved 2026-08-16.

[5] Madani, Doha; Li, David K. (August 16, 2026). "Former MLB pitcher Tommy John dies at age 83". NBC News. Archived from the original on August 16, 2026. Retrieved August 16, 2026.