Years ago, I asked Richard Sandomir how The New York Times decides on who gets the “honor” of an obituary in the “paper of record.” His exact answer escapes me but the gist of it was that they had some kind of impact on society.
Tommy John had such an impact, albeit as an unwitting participant. His decision to try the experimental surgical procedure that would bear his name, made him a baseball legend and merited him the front-page treatment (written by Bruce Weber) with a continuation that took up the entire last page of the “A” section. Few people in any field ever get such a write-up.
John died Saturday at the age of 83, a victim of bladder cancer.
I won’t go into detail here; any baseball fan knows John, a lefty hurler who pitched longer than anybody except Nolan Ryan, underwent surgery to repair a torn ligament in his elbow, missing the entire 1975 season. The line on his Baseball-Reference page reads “Did not play — injured (eponymous surgical procedure).”
The results were spectacular, allowing him to continue to ply his craft for 14 of his 26 years in the majors. He made his debut as a 20-year-old for the Cleveland Indians in 1960. He also played for the White Sox, FDodgers, Yankees, Angels, and Athletics, before returning to the Bronx to close out his career. By the time he was done, John had won 288 games, yet he was never elected to the Hall of Fame.
In an odd coincidence, Tejay Antone just published The Tommy John Protocol: How to Rebuild Your Arm, Your Mind, and Your Faith last month. John himself released three books, including
- The Tommy John Story (with Joe Musser, 1978)
- The Sally and Tommy John Story: Our Life in Baseball (1983)
- TJ: My 26 Years in Baseball (with Dan Valenti, 1991)
is available on Amazon.com,
