Between his very good career and his namesake surgery, TJ really should be in the HOF.
Between 1977-1980, he recorded a #2, #2, #4, and #8 Cy Young vote collection.
You have to look at this in the context of the time. Some people thought John was crazy to try this procedure. It had never been done on a pitcher before. The medical advice was rest, ice, painkillers, and pitch through it. John tried that at first, but it wasn’t getting better.
Dr. Frank Jobe told John the procedure might give him a 1 in 100 chance to pitch again. John replied: “let’s do it.”
Honestly should be in the HOF if not for his career, simply for his innovation. Who knows if Tommy John surgery never becomes a thing without him and just imagine where we’d sit today if this injury still ended your career.
Fun fact: Tommy John career leader in no decisions
Had my TJ done August 1st, 2019 at 20 years old. Still pitching to this day.
Almost all “eponyms” (something named after a person) in medical history are named after the doctor that discovered it. There are over 6000 eponymous diseases, treatments and symptoms ranging from Alzheimers (named after a German Psychiatrist) to Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (a form of stomach ulcers named after an American surgeon).
But only a very small handful (probably less than 20) of thousands of medical terms are named after the PATIENT. Two come from MLB:
Lou Gehrig disease (ALS) and
Tommy John Surgery. Dr. Frank Jobe his surgeon could easily have used his own name to publish the results of the groundbreaking technique. But he was a generous man and eventually the first patient ever (TJ) became the name we all know. John and Jobe remained friends until the good doctors death.
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Between his very good career and his namesake surgery, TJ really should be in the HOF.
Between 1977-1980, he recorded a #2, #2, #4, and #8 Cy Young vote collection.
You have to look at this in the context of the time. Some people thought John was crazy to try this procedure. It had never been done on a pitcher before. The medical advice was rest, ice, painkillers, and pitch through it. John tried that at first, but it wasn’t getting better.
Dr. Frank Jobe told John the procedure might give him a 1 in 100 chance to pitch again. John replied: “let’s do it.”
Honestly should be in the HOF if not for his career, simply for his innovation. Who knows if Tommy John surgery never becomes a thing without him and just imagine where we’d sit today if this injury still ended your career.
Fun fact: Tommy John career leader in no decisions
Had my TJ done August 1st, 2019 at 20 years old. Still pitching to this day.
Almost all “eponyms” (something named after a person) in medical history are named after the doctor that discovered it. There are over 6000 eponymous diseases, treatments and symptoms ranging from Alzheimers (named after a German Psychiatrist) to Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome (a form of stomach ulcers named after an American surgeon).
But only a very small handful (probably less than 20) of thousands of medical terms are named after the PATIENT. Two come from MLB:
Lou Gehrig disease (ALS) and
Tommy John Surgery. Dr. Frank Jobe his surgeon could easily have used his own name to publish the results of the groundbreaking technique. But he was a generous man and eventually the first patient ever (TJ) became the name we all know. John and Jobe remained friends until the good doctors death.