'I'll be back until the hitters force me to retire.' Tommy won seven in a row at the start of the season, but then he always gets off to a good beginning. 'I work hard all winter. I throw every day.'
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Tommy is a sinker ball specialist. He started the third and final AL playoff game against the Royals. The 'Bionic Man,' his career was apparently over when doctors transplanted a tendon from his right forearm to his left elbow in 1974."
-Jim Hawkins, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1981 Edition
"When Tommy John signed with the Yankees, everyone realized they were getting a quality pitcher. Talented enough to win his quota of games during his return engagement in the American League, but who would have thought that he would win 43 games in his first two Yankee seasons? More than any other pitcher in baseball over that period. Performance plus!
Tommy John is performance plus and then some. He's one of those guys who mean as much to the Yankees off the field as well as on it. When most ballplayers treasure their free time between October and February, TJ is out making personal appearances. Everyone, it seems, wants to meet and greet the veteran southpaw and it's easy to see why.
Tommy lives his life the way most people would like to live theirs. He goes to work, gives it everything he has and then smiles when it's time to meet his critics and the public who enjoy his work.
Tommy's someone special. TJ is a Yankee with a very unique feel for people and a firm belief in God and family. Shooting straight from the heart and mind, TJ is always ready to tell anyone how it really is. No frills, no special effects, just Indiana smarts and down-home honesty. He's a real man in today's world and a very welcome part of the Yankee family."
-The New York Yankees Official 1981 Yearbook
"1980 was Tommy's second straight outstanding Yankee season. He is now the winningest pitcher in baseball over the last two years, with a 43-18 record in Pinstripes. His 22 wins in 1980 represented a career high. Tommy led the league with six shutouts, tied Mike Norris for second in wins (22), tied for fourth in starts (36), tied for fourth in complete games (16), tied for fifth in winning percentage (.710) and was fifth in innings (265.1). He finished fourth in the American League Cy Young voting behind Steve Stone, Norris and Gossage, after finishing second in 1979. Tommy was voted by the players as the left-handed pitcher on the Sporting News AL All-Star team.
Tommy began the season with seven straight wins after winning his first nine in 1979. He won his 200th career game, a 2-hit shutout at Seattle on June 6 and won five of his last seven decisions and seven of his last 10. Named to his fourth All-Star Game in '80, Tommy hurled three shutouts in three starts against the White Sox, was 4-0 against Seattle, 3-0 against Minnesota and 2-0 against both Milwaukee and Cleveland. He was 11-4 at home and 11-5 on the road, and in two years is 23-9 at home and 20-9 on the road. Tommy has not missed a start since joining the Yankees.
Tommy is one of eight men in baseball history to win 20 games in both leagues, the others being Jerry Koosman, Andy Messersmith, Gaylord Perry, Ferguson Jenkins, Joe McGinnity, Jesse Tannehill and Al Orth. He has won 20 in three of his last four seasons.
He signed with the Yankees after the 1978 season and finished second in the league in wins (21), ERA (2.96), innings (276.1) and second in the Cy Young voting. Tommy won his first nine games and was named the American League's first ever Pitcher of the Month, going 4-0 in April. He was named the left-handed starter on the UPI AL All-Star team. Tommy came to the Yankees after seven National League seasons with the Dodgers, where he posted an 87-42 (.674) mark. His best NL year was 1977 when he went 20-7 with a 2.78 ERA and won 14 of his final 17.
Tommy went to the Dodgers from the White Sox with Steve Huntz in exchange for Dick Allen in December 1971. He had a productive first two-and-a-half years with Los Angeles, leading the league in winning percentage in 1973 and 1974, before he ruptured a ligament in his left elbow on July 17, 1974 while pitching against Montreal. TJ was off to his best start (13-3) when the injury occurred.
Tommy underwent surgery on September 25, 1974 as a tendon from his right forearm was used in the reconstruction of his left elbow. The operation, performed by Dr. Frank Jobe, was the first of its kind on an athlete, and Jobe told him he'd never pitch again.
TJ came back in 1976 after a year of therapy, exercise and running and went 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA to win NL Comeback of the Year honors and the Fred Hutchinson Award. The following season he won 20 for the first time and finished second to Steve Carlton in the Cy Young voting. Tommy had his best NL success against the Dodgers' toughest opponents: he had a lifetime record of 12-3 against the Reds and 8-2 against the Giants.
Tommy originally signed with the Indians and made the majors at the end of 1963 after starting the year 9-2, 1.61 at Charleston. In his first major league win in 1964, he beat Baltimore 6-0 on 72 pitches. Traded to the White Sox in January 1965 with Johnny Romano and Tommie Agee for Rocky Colavito and Camilo Carreon as part of a three-team deal, Tommy had a good first year in Chicago, going 14-7 and 3.08 before breaking his collarbone in a fight with Dick McAuliffe that ended his season.
TJ spent seven years with the Sox before going to the Dodgers. He has pitched six 2-hitters and seven 3-hitters, and his strikeout high is 13 against the Reds on August 8, 1972. The two men he was traded for hit a combined 725 home runs (Colavito-374, Allen-351).
Tommy grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana where he received 35 scholarship offers upon graduation from Gerstmeyer High School. He attended Indiana State University in Terre Haute and was given the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor given by the school, following the 1979 season.
An outstanding golfer, TJ has his own celebrity golf tournament in California for the benefit of cancer research. He moved to New Jersey in the winter of '79 and keeps busy making charity and civic appearances both in the New York area and in California."
-New York Yankees 1981 Media Guide
Tommy went to the Dodgers from the White Sox with Steve Huntz in exchange for Dick Allen in December 1971. He had a productive first two-and-a-half years with Los Angeles, leading the league in winning percentage in 1973 and 1974, before he ruptured a ligament in his left elbow on July 17, 1974 while pitching against Montreal. TJ was off to his best start (13-3) when the injury occurred.
Tommy underwent surgery on September 25, 1974 as a tendon from his right forearm was used in the reconstruction of his left elbow. The operation, performed by Dr. Frank Jobe, was the first of its kind on an athlete, and Jobe told him he'd never pitch again.
TJ came back in 1976 after a year of therapy, exercise and running and went 10-10 with a 3.09 ERA to win NL Comeback of the Year honors and the Fred Hutchinson Award. The following season he won 20 for the first time and finished second to Steve Carlton in the Cy Young voting. Tommy had his best NL success against the Dodgers' toughest opponents: he had a lifetime record of 12-3 against the Reds and 8-2 against the Giants.
Tommy originally signed with the Indians and made the majors at the end of 1963 after starting the year 9-2, 1.61 at Charleston. In his first major league win in 1964, he beat Baltimore 6-0 on 72 pitches. Traded to the White Sox in January 1965 with Johnny Romano and Tommie Agee for Rocky Colavito and Camilo Carreon as part of a three-team deal, Tommy had a good first year in Chicago, going 14-7 and 3.08 before breaking his collarbone in a fight with Dick McAuliffe that ended his season.
TJ spent seven years with the Sox before going to the Dodgers. He has pitched six 2-hitters and seven 3-hitters, and his strikeout high is 13 against the Reds on August 8, 1972. The two men he was traded for hit a combined 725 home runs (Colavito-374, Allen-351).
Tommy grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana where he received 35 scholarship offers upon graduation from Gerstmeyer High School. He attended Indiana State University in Terre Haute and was given the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor given by the school, following the 1979 season.
An outstanding golfer, TJ has his own celebrity golf tournament in California for the benefit of cancer research. He moved to New Jersey in the winter of '79 and keeps busy making charity and civic appearances both in the New York area and in California."
-New York Yankees 1981 Media Guide
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