Most surgeons did not know how you can restore the elbow tear till Dr. Frank Jobe took a radical strategy. On Sept. 25, 1974, in a cutting-edge surgical procedure, he grafted a wholesome tendon from John’s proper forearm and drilled holes within the bones of his left elbow, utilizing anchors to stabilize the ligament. John, who was missing sensation in his fingers and palms, underwent a second operation to restore injury to the ulnar nerve in his left arm.
Jobe, who died at 88 in 2014, remained skeptical. He gave John 1-in-100 odds of taking part in once more. The pitcher accepted that threat.
“I instructed [Jobe], ‘You are an excellent physician, and I imagine in you. However you are improper. I’ll come again,'” John said, by way of MLB.com’s Bryan Hoch. “You probably did a wonderful job in my arm. Now, it is as much as me. I understand how a lot ache my physique can stand — and it is fairly a bit. I understand how laborious I can work, and if it takes 18 hours a day, I will do it. I’ll come again.”
John subsequently spent the 1975 season rehabbing. When he returned in 1976, it was as if he had by no means suffered the damage. The pitcher posted a stable 3.09 ERA, had 91 strikeouts in 207 innings pitched and had a 10-10 beginning file.
The next season, he was even higher, ending second in Nationwide League Cy Younger voting behind former Philadelphia Phillies star Steve Carlton. He posted a 2.78 ERA in 220.1 innings pitched, going 20-7 as a starter.
John, nicknamed “The Bionic Man” after the surgical procedure, completed his profession with 4 All-Star Recreation journeys and the Twenty sixth-most wins (288) in MLB historical past. His lasting legacy will likely be as a medical trailblazer.
Tommy John surgical procedure has since turn into a routine operation that has saved the careers of numerous pitchers. Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, for instance, underwent it in March 2025. Coming into Sunday, he had recorded a 3.22 ERA in 86.2 innings pitched. Dodgers pitchers Shohei Ohtani and Tarik Skubal have additionally undergone the surgical procedure.
