Audio of the Day: Tommy John
By Mike Silva ~ December 29th, 2009. Filed under: Audio of the Day, Yankees Alumni, Yankees Audio.
With all the talk about Jack Morris and Bert Blyleven I thought today’s “audio of the day” should be Tommy John. Tommy will never be forgotten due to the famous surgery named after him. Many forget that he pitched 26 seasons and accumulated 288 wins over his career. Despite that, he has yet to be elected to the Hall of Fame.
Tommy John grew up in Indiana where he was a star basketball player. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1961 and made his major league debut two years later at the age of 20. John’s best stint of his career was from 1977 to 1980 where he won 80, lost 35, and had an ERA of 3.12 for the Dodgers and Yankees. This was after having the first surgery to replace his ulnar collateral ligament, which prior to 1974, meant the end of a pitchers career. He would go on to win 164 games after the surgery, one less than Sandy Koufax had in his entire career.
In retirement Tommy John spent some time managing the Bridgeport Bluefish in the independent Atlantic League. In July of 2008 I had a chance to chat with him in his office before a game against the Long Island Ducks. We talked about the surgery, growing up playing basketball in Indiana, and his thoughts on the Hall of Fame. I can tell you Tommy is very passionate about his exclusion (to date) from the Hall. Since he didn’t garner enough votes during his last year of eligibility (2009), John will have to hope the Veterans Committee selects him at some point in the future.
