2025 Traditional Baseball Period Committee Candidate: Tommy John

The next article is a part of a collection regarding the 2025 Traditional Baseball Period Committee poll, overlaying long-retired gamers, managers, executives, and umpires whose candidacies shall be voted upon on December 8. For an introduction to the poll, see right here, and for an introduction to JAWS, see right here. A number of profiles on this collection are tailored from work beforehand revealed at SI.com, Baseball Prospectus, and Futility Infielder. All WAR figures confer with the Baseball-Reference model until in any other case indicated.

Tommy John spent 26 seasons pitching within the majors from 1963–74 after which 1976–89, greater than any participant in addition to Nolan Ryan, however his degree of fame stems as a lot from the yr that cleaves that span because it does from his work on the mound. Because the recipient of probably the most well-known sports activities medication process of all time, the elbow ligament alternative surgical procedure carried out by Dr. Frank Jobe in late 1974 that now bears his title, John endured an arduous year-long rehab course of earlier than returning to pitch in addition to ever, a restoration that gave hope to generations of injured pitchers whose careers would possibly in any other case have ended. Tommy John surgical procedure has considerably obscured the pitcher’s on-field accomplishments, nonetheless.

A sinkerballer who relied upon his command and management to restrict exhausting contact, John didn’t overpower hitters; after his surgical procedure, when the utilization of radar weapons grew to become extra widespread, his sinker — which he threw 85-90% of the time — was usually clocked within the 85-87 mph vary. He paired the sinker with a curveball, or moderately a number of curves, as he might alter the break primarily based upon the velocity at which he threw the pitch. He was the epitome of the “artful lefty,” so good at his vocation that he arrived on the foremost league scene at age 20 and made his ultimate look three days after his forty sixth birthday. He made 4 All-Star groups and was a key starter on 5 golf equipment that reached the postseason and three that gained pennants, although he wound up on the dropping finish of the World Sequence every time.

Thomas Edward John Jr. was born on Might 22, 1943 in Terre Haute, Indiana. He lower his enamel taking part in sandlot ball and extra organized video games at Spencer F. Ball Park, a three-block sq. with about 10 baseball diamonds used for every little thing from pickup video games to these of two rival excessive colleges, Garfield and Gerstmeyer, the latter of which he attended.

At Gerstmeyer, John excelled in basketball in addition to baseball, a lot in order that the rangy, 6-foot-3 teenager was recruited by legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp, and had over 50 basketball scholarship presents however only one for baseball (few faculties gave these out in these days). When Rupp paid a go to to their family, the senior John instructed the coach that his son was most likely going to bypass school to pursue skilled baseball. Because the pitcher recalled in 2015:

Rupp stated, “Effectively, we’ve a fairly good baseball staff down in Kentucky, and your son would possibly even be capable of make our staff.” My dad by no means appreciated Rupp, however that actually made him mad. He instructed Coach Rupp, “Don’t let the door hit you within the ass on the way in which out.” Rupp was livid. His assistant got here in and tried to clean issues over, nevertheless it didn’t matter.

On the mound, John lacked a top-notch fastball however had a serious league-caliber curveball that he discovered from former Phillies minor leaguer Arley Andrews, a pal of his father. He pitched to a 28-2 file in highschool, and whereas the Cleveland Indians scout who signed him, John Schulte, expressed concern about his incapability to overpower hitters, he signed him nonetheless two weeks after John graduated from Gerstmeyer in 1961 — 4 years earlier than the introduction of the novice draft.

Talking of commencement, John excelled academically and was named the valedictorian of his class. However as a result of he had a stutter, he was not allowed to ship the valedictory tackle on the commencement ceremony. Fifty-three years later, one other Terre Haute highschool (North Vigo, not Gerstmeyer), invited him to provide a valedictory tackle at its ceremony, throughout which he recounted the recommendation he acquired from legendary UCLA bassketball coach John Picket throughout his rehab: “I inform my basketball gamers we acquire energy by way of adversity… You’ve received to have adversity in your life to be a harder, stronger individual.”

John started his skilled profession at Cleveland’s Class-D Dubuque affiliate, going 10-4 with a 3.17 ERA in 99 innings in 1961. He break up the following two seasons between Charleston — which itself jumped from Single-A to Double-A for 1963 — and Triple-A Jacksonville, and was rewarded with a late-season callup. He debuted within the majors on September 6, 1963, with an inning of scoreless aid in opposition to the Senators. Eight days later, he made his first begin, in opposition to the Angels, permitting 4 runs (one earned) in 6 2/3 innings and taking the loss. With Cleveland already well-stocked with younger hurlers, together with 23-year-old Luis Tiant and 21-year-old Sam McDowell, John break up his 1964 season between the minors and majors. He pitched much better than his 2-9 file indicated, struggling on account of an absence of offensive help. Throughout one six-start span in June and July, his staff scored a complete of 9 runs for him. He struggled to include a slider taught to him by pitching coach (and future Corridor of Famer) Early Wynn, which compromised his mechanics.

The next January, John was traded to the White Sox as a part of a three-team, eight-player deal that despatched slugger Rocky Colavito from the Kansas Metropolis A’s again to Cleveland. Nonetheless simply 22 years outdated, John shortly emerged as a strong mid-rotation starter on the South Aspect, going 14-7 with a 3.09 ERA (102 ERA+) in 1965. That kicked off a seven-year stretch with the White Sox, throughout which he pitched to a 2.95 ERA (117 ERA+) and three.20 FIP whereas averaging 213 innings and three.4 WAR. In 1966, he posted a 2.62 ERA (121 ERA+) with 5 shutouts, tied for the AL lead with Tiant and McDowell, then adopted up with a 2.47 ERA (122 ERA+) with six shutouts, tied for the league lead with 4 different pitchers, together with the Tigers’ Mickey Lolich. In 1968, the Yr of the Pitcher, he posted a 1.98 ERA (additionally good for fifth within the league, and for a career-best 161 ERA+) with 5.6 WAR (sixth) and made his first All-Star staff. His season ended on August 22, nonetheless, when Tigers second baseman Dick McAuliffe charged the mound after a few errant pitches. Within the scuffle, McAuliffe kneed John in his left shoulder, separating it and tearing ligaments. (He drew a five-game suspension.)

John returned with out a lot hassle, shutting out Oakland on 4 hits in his 1969 debut. He topped 5.0 WAR and positioned within the league’s high 10 in that class each in that season and 1970, however by ’71, he was clashing with one other pitching coach who pushed him to combine a slider, the nice Johnny Sain. In line with Jon Weisman’s Brothers in Arms, John endured 12 weeks of frustration whereas attempting to combine the pitch earlier than reconnecting with Sain’s predecessor, Ray Berres, who instructed him, “Stick that slider up your ass… You don’t add a pitch if it takes away out of your different pitches.”

In December 1971, after a subpar marketing campaign (13-16, 3.61 ERA), John and one different participant had been traded to the Dodgers in alternate for slugger Dick Allen, who had spent only one yr in Los Angeles and would go on to win AL MVP honors in his first yr in Chicago. The commerce wasn’t fully one-sided, as John discovered a sympathetic collaborator in Dodgers pitching coach Purple Adams, who instructed him to emphasise his sinker, which had loads of motion to compensate for its lack of velocity.

In his first three seasons in Dodger blue, John pitched to a 2.89 ERA (119 ERA+) and a couple of.94 FIP. However on July 17, 1974, at a time when he led the NL with 13 wins for a staff that may go on to win the pennant, the 31-year-old southpaw’s left arm went useless. “It felt as if I had left my arm someplace else. It was as if my physique continued to go ahead and my left arm had simply flown out to proper discipline, impartial of the remainder of me,” he later instructed Sports activities Illustrated’s Ron Fimrite.

Dr. Jobe, who had eliminated bone chips from John’s elbow after the 1972 season, initially couldn’t decide how broken the pitcher’s elbow was. When relaxation and remedy proved insufficient, John requested Jobe to function to alleviate what the physician known as “Overuse Syndrome.” The surgical procedure to switch a ruptured elbow ligament had by no means been tried in a pitcher, and on the whole, surgical procedures on athletes had been usually seen as final resorts. This one actually was.

On September 25, 1974, throughout a three-hour process, Jobe changed John’s ruptured ulnar collateral ligament with a palmaris longus tendon harvested from the pitcher’s proper wrist. The surgical procedure initially turned John’s left hand into one thing resembling a ineffective claw, as he lacked sensation and management of a number of fingers. Three months later, Jobe operated once more to reroute the ulnar nerve and restore feeling to the hand.

John went to spring coaching with the Dodgers in 1975, endeavor a rehab for which there was no street map. “I labored exhausting seven days per week, on workouts Dr. Jobe gave me to strengthen the arm,” he instructed biographer Dan Valenti. “I labored as exhausting as I probably might on my rehabilitation. I by no means wished to look again and say: ‘Son of a gun, possibly if I’d labored somewhat tougher in 1975, I may need come again.’”

Unable to throw but and nonetheless struggling to regain full sensation, John resorted to taping his broken fingers to his working ones to assist him grip the ball. In June, lastly, he might uncurl his fingers; in July he might throw bullpens, and shortly after, reside batting follow. On September 29, 1975, he lastly pitched in a sport state of affairs, throwing three good innings in an Arizona Tutorial League sport, the primary of 5 he labored.

Suffice it to say that the operation and the rehab labored. John returned to the Dodgers in tremendous type in 1976, throwing 207 innings with a 3.09 ERA (109 ERA+) and three.08 FIP. He gained The Sporting Information’ NL Comeback Participant of the Yr award in addition to the Hutch Award, given yearly to an energetic participant “who greatest exemplifies the preventing spirit and aggressive need of Fred Hutchinson.” In 1977, he started a real profession renaissance, profitable 20 video games for the primary time, inserting fifth within the league with a 2.78 ERA (138 ERA+), throwing a one-run full sport on three days of relaxation within the NLCS clincher in opposition to the Phillies, and ending second behind Steve Carlton within the NL Cy Younger race.

John made All-Star groups in every of the following three seasons, serving to the Dodgers to a different pennant in 1978 with a four-hit shutout of the Phillies within the NLCS earlier than a victory within the World Sequence opener in opposition to the Yankees. New York prevailed in that collection because it had the yr earlier than, and only a few weeks later, the Yankees signed John, who had reached free company, to a three-year, $1.2 million deal, with an choice for the fourth yr.

John made 36 begins in every of his first two seasons in pinstripes, totaling a whopping 541 2/3 innings and notching 43 wins; he went 21-9 in 1979, and 22-9 in ’80. His 2.96 ERA ranked second within the AL in 1979, and his 5.5 WAR seventh; he once more completed because the runner-up within the Cy Younger race, this time to Mike Flanagan. On June 6, 1980, he threw a two-hit shutout in opposition to the Mariners in Seattle for his 2 hundredth profession victory.

The Yankees missed the playoffs in 1979, and regardless of profitable 103 video games the next yr, they had been ousted within the ALCS by the Royals. They returned to the World Sequence in 1981 to face the Dodgers, that after John went 9-8 with a 2.63 ERA (136 ERA+) in the course of the strike-shortened season.

For as robust as these numbers had been, off the sphere John and his household had been enduring tough occasions. On August 13, 1981, simply three days after the season resumed following the seven-week strike, his two-year-old son Travis fell by way of the display of a third-story window and bounced off the entrance fender of a station wagon, fracturing his cranium however most likely saving his life. He spent practically two weeks in a coma; throughout that point, his father took his flip within the rotation if the Yankees had been at dwelling and remained along with his household when the staff traveled. Fortunately, Travis recovered; by the point of his father’s begin in Recreation 3 of the Division Sequence in opposition to the Brewers, Travis was in a position to throw out a ceremonial first pitch.

John allowed 5 runs in seven innings and took the loss in that begin, however rebounded with six innings of one-run ball in opposition to the A’s within the ALCS opener. When the Yankees reached the World Sequence, he spun seven shutout innings in opposition to his outdated teammates in Recreation 2, however he had exhausting luck thereafter. Summoned right into a bases-loaded aid look within the eighth inning of a tied Recreation 4, he allowed two inherited runners to attain in what proved to be the decisive rally. In Recreation 6, with the Yankees trailing three video games to 2, John threw 4 innings of one-run ball, however with two on and two outs within the backside of the fourth and the rating tied, 1-1, supervisor Bob Lemon made the controversial choice to switch him with pinch-hitter Bobby Murcer. The printed captured a disbelieving John as he was instructed he was out of the sport.

Murcer flied out to finish the menace, after which the Dodgers broke the sport open in opposition to reliever George Frazier (who had already taken two losses within the collection, together with in Recreation 4) and claimed their first championship since 1965.

John didn’t full his contract with the Yankees; with the staff going nowhere, on August 31, 1982, he was traded to the playoff-bound Angels. He threw an entire sport victory within the ALCS opener in opposition to the Brewers, although he was hammered in Recreation 4, and the Angels went down in defeat.

Highlighted by his securing his 250th win on Might 1, 1984 with eight robust innings in opposition to the A’s, John spent two and a half extra seasons with the Halos with diminishing returns. He drew his launch in June 1985; battling accidents, he completed that season with the A’s, placing up a career-worst 5.53 ERA. The following spring, he made the Yankees as a 42-year-old non-roster invitee, and pitched properly when out there, however missed one month on account of again spasms and two extra on account of a ruptured Achilles tendon, then tore ligaments in left thumb in a fall on September 3, ending his season. He meant that to be his final one, having accepted a job to turn into the pitching coach on the College of North Carolina, however the Yankees lured him again with a $350,000 contract. In his age-44 season, he pitched fairly respectably, posting a 13-6 file with a 4.03 ERA (110 ERA+), 3.88 FIP, and a couple of.4 WAR.

John spent elements of two extra seasons with the Yankees. He was the Opening Day starter for the final of them in 1989, the third-oldest in MLB historical past on the time, at 45 years and 317 days. However after compiling a 2-7 file with a 5.80 ERA in 10 begins, he was launched in late Might and introduced his retirement in September.

Due to his longevity and talent to eat innings, John completed with some spectacular profession totals and lofty rankings: He’s eighth all-time in video games began (700), 18th in batters confronted (19,692), twentieth in innings (4,710 1/3), and twenty sixth in each wins (288) and shutouts (46). Past his endurance, the knock in opposition to his conventional statistics is that he by no means led his leagues in a Triple Crown class (wins, ERA, and strikeouts), made simply 4 All-Star groups, and by no means gained a Cy Younger (although he did end second twice and fourth as soon as). His rating of 112 on the Invoice James Corridor of Fame Monitor, which measures how possible (however not how deserving) a participant is to be elected by awarding factors for numerous honors, league leads, postseason efficiency and so forth — the issues that are likely to catch voters’ eyes — marks him as “a great chance” moderately than “a digital cinch.”

One can play “what if” and surmise that John may need reached 300 wins, and thus computerized enshrinement, had he not missed a yr and a half on account of his elbow harm. However, the excessive degree of success he loved within the first half-decade post-surgery could not have been attainable with out that intervention. Additionally, had his profession progressed with out his UCL tear, he might simply have been sidetracked by a unique arm drawback in his late 30s or early 40s, after banking a number of million {dollars} in free company, at an age when rehabbing may need appeared much less interesting than when he was 31.

Whereas 164 of John’s wins (about 56%) and a couple of,544 2/3 innings (54%) got here after his fateful collaboration with Dr. Jobe, his pitching WAR break up is nearly precisely down the center: 31.1 WAR earlier than, 31.0 after. On a prorated foundation, he was extra worthwhile earlier than the surgical procedure (2.9 WAR per 200 innings) than after (2.4 WAR per 200 innings), primarily as a result of he was largely a below-average pitcher over his final seven seasons (4.43 ERA, 92 ERA+, 6.5 WAR in 1,002 2/3 innings from 1983–89). There are 223 beginning pitchers with no less than 2.6 WAR per 200 innings (John’s general common) and no less than 2,000 innings pitched, together with 55 of the 66 enshrined beginning pitchers.

For all of his longevity, John’s 61.5 complete WAR (together with offense) is simply 58th all-time amongst starters, forward of solely 23 out of 66 enshrinees, and simply two out of the 11 modern Corridor of Famers from “That Seventies Group,” specifically Catfish Hunter (40.9) and 2022 honoree Jim Kaat (50.5). From that group, John’s 111 ERA+ surpasses solely Hunter (104 ERA+), Kaat (108), and former teammate Don Sutton (108).

Past his run prevention is John’s lack of strikeouts. He’s 62nd all-time, having whiffed simply 4.3 per 9 general and three.4 per 9 after surgical procedure, which means that he shares a larger portion of the credit score along with his fielders, resulting in decrease WAR values. With simply 4 seasons of no less than 5.0 WAR and amongst his leagues’ high 10, his 34.6 peak WAR is tied for 164th, matching or forward of simply seven of the 66 enshrinees, and over 15 wins under the usual. He’s tied with Tim Hudson and Orel Hershiser for 84th in JAWS, forward of simply 16 of 66 enshrinees, a few of whom (comparable to Sandy Koufax, Dizzy Dean, and Addie Joss) threw fewer than half as many innings.

John’s standing improves barely once I use S-JAWS, the adjusted model of my Corridor health metric that tones down the impression of high-volume innings totals from earlier eras. Right here’s “That Seventies Group,” with Tiant (who’s additionally on this poll) becoming a member of John among the many outsiders:

John’s adjusted peak is tied for one hundred and thirty fifth with a pair of pre-integration Yankees, Waite Hoyt and Purple Faber (each of whom are within the Corridor), whereas his S-JAWS is tied for 76th with George Uhle and Chris Sale; he’s 0.1 behind Hershiser, 0.1 forward of Mark Buehrle, above simply 19 of the 66 enshrined starters, and practically 10 factors under the usual.

As John is considerably under the profession, peak, and S-JAWS requirements by substantial margins, to those eyes, one wants to use a really massive bonus when valuing the extra subjective facets of his profession. He was excellent within the postseason (6-3, 2.65 ERA in 88 1/3 innings, together with 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 33 2/3 innings within the World Sequence), however not fairly dominant, and he by no means gained a championship. He wasn’t grossly underrated by way of awards and accolades.

The query of how a lot to worth John for being Affected person Zero on the subject of his function as a medical marvel is one I’ve been wrestling with since earlier than I created JAWS, as he was mid-candidacy once I broke down the 2002 poll for my Futility Infielder weblog. His was definitely an admirable and inspirational comeback, an incredible story of threat and perseverance, and it’s left an indelible mark on baseball. Through Jon Roegele, keeper of the Tommy John Surgical procedure database, over 2,500 skilled gamers have undergone the process, together with practically 39% of pitchers who appeared in main league video games or on the foremost league injured checklist in 2024. Within the half-century since his surgical procedure, and notably since his profession ended, he’s carried out numerous interviews on the topic, echoing high orthopedic surgeons by counseling in favor of correct mechanics and in opposition to throwing too exhausting.

For as spectacular as his legacy is, I’m largely left feeling that when the Corridor honored John and Jobe in tandem in 2013, that was enough. I can’t shake the truth that John was a very-good-but-rarely-great pitcher throughout an period that’s already well-represented inside Cooperstown. On a efficiency foundation, he’s considerably behind the opposite modern pitcher on this poll, Tiant (whose case I’ll take up subsequent). His numbers and case are each higher than the just lately elected Kaat, however I don’t consider Kaat is any extra acceptable as a bar for pitchers than Harold Baines is for hitters.

The voters have seen issues equally almost about John. He debuted on the BBWAA poll in 1995 with simply 21.3% of the vote, and didn’t high 30% till his fifteenth and ultimate poll (31.7% in 2009). Although he appeared on the 2011 and ’14 Growth Period ballots, and the ’18 and ’20 Trendy Baseball ones, he by no means acquired sufficient help to have his precise vote complete introduced; usually, the Corridor lumps collectively all candidates under a sure (various) threshold as “receiving fewer than x” votes to keep away from embarrassing them (or their descendants) with the information of a shutout.

Given the ubiquity of the surgical procedure that bears his title, I can see a case for awarding John a bonus for his pioneering function, although my intestine feeling tells me that overlaying an 11-point JAWS hole is a stretch, which isn’t to say that’s a tough line; I’ve received candidates I help who’re a number of factors in need of the usual, together with pending BBWAA newcomer CC Sabathia. No matter my qualms, if the voters are going to decide on John, I’d moderately it occurs whereas he’s alive. However Corridor voting doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Voters are restricted to a few selections from among the many eight candidates, and thru 4 evaluations, I’ve received one particular sure (Allen), one agency no (Steve Garvey), and one yes-but-for-space (Ken Boyer) earlier than John. Boyer has a lot stronger numbers, however his lack of traction from voters, and the truth that he’s deceased, lowers him as a voting precedence. Even when I put John forward of him, I do know there are nonetheless stronger candidates to guage. So whereas I’m not a particular “no,” I lean that approach for John on this poll.