"Tommy enjoyed another banner season in '81 despite being engulfed in a near tragedy for part of it when his infant son, Travis, fell out of a window and suffered serious head injuries. Travis recovered and Tommy again led the Yanks in complete games (7). The strike may have ended any hopes of one day achieving 300 wins, however.
Born in Terre Haute, Indiana, Tommy possesses probably the best sinker ball in the league, though some suggest he adds a little 'extra' to it. 'The Bionic Man,' his career almost ended when doctors had to transplant a tendon from his right forearm to his left elbow in 1974.
Tommy is in the final year of his free agent Yankee contract, although that was expected to be rectified before the start of the '82 season. A Steinbrenner favorite, he won support from the Yankee boss when he protested being lifted for a pinch hitter in the fourth inning of the final World Series game."
-Bill Madden, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1982 Edition
"Coming back is nothing new to Tommy John. After elbow surgery in September of '74, doctors told him he would probably never pitch again. Rehabilitating and racing against time, Tommy waited through the '75 season and approached the mound again in 1976. That year he won both the National League's Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Fred Hutchinson Award. The very next year, 1977, TJ proved his success no fluke by reaching the magic 20-win mark. In 1978, he managed 17 victories, made the National League's All-Star team and helped his mates, the Los Angeles Dodgers, reach the fall classic.
This season represents another comeback, of sorts. After winning nine games in 1981, TJ would like to return to his usual form: 20 victories a season, as witnessed through the first two seasons he put on the pinstripes- 1979 and 1980. If not for the baseball strike, Tommy feels he may have made it three big years in a row.
Yankee fans aren't that worried about Tommy coming back and winning another 20. They're satisfied with his spectacular ERA from '81, 2.64, which was good enough to lead the Yankees and fourth best in the entire American League. Tommy's ability to keep runners from crossing home plate is his forte and with another possibility of him winning 20 games on the horizon, Yankee fans are glad they've got number twenty-five on their side."
-The New York Yankees Official 1982 Yearbook
"1981 was Tommy's third straight outstanding Yankee season. He is now the winningest pitcher in the AL over the last three years with a 52-36 record in Pinstripes. Tommy was the starter and winner against Texas on both 1981 Opening Days and won Game 2 of the World Series against his former Dodger teammates. His 2.64 ERA was fourth best in the AL. He pitched well all season but the Yankees scored a total of only 12 runs in his eight losses.
Tommy pitched five consecutive complete games from September 3 to September 25. He strained his lower back on May 22 at Cleveland, left the game and missed two starts. He cut his left index finger on a razor on June 5 and was placed on the DL, and reactivated after the strike for the second half.
On August 13 his three-year-old son Travis fell from a third floor window and was critically injured. He was in the hospital for over a month and is okay now. Throughout the ordeal, Tommy missed just one start, joining the team only on days he pitched.
Tommy moved up several notches on the all-time lists; up 14 places on the games started list into a tie for 23rd with 504 starts; past eight pitchers on the all-time win list, moving into a tie for 50th all-time, and up two places on the all-time strikeout list to 42nd all-time with 1,850.
One of eight men in baseball history to win 20 games in both leagues, Tommy signed with the Yankees after the '78 season and finished second in the AL in wins, ERA, innings pitched and Cy Young voting. He won his first nine games of '79 and was named the AL's first ever Pitcher of the Month, going 4-0 in April. He was named the left-handed starter on the UPI All-Star team. In 1980, Tommy won his first seven games of the season, finished fourth in the Cy Young voting and was named as the left-handed pitcher on the Sporting News All-Star team. He won his 200th career game, a 2-hit shutout at Seattle, on June 6 of that year.
Tommy ruptured a ligament in his left elbow on July 17, 1974 while pitching against Montreal. He underwent surgery on September 25 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 would never pitch again. TJ was off to his best start, 13-3, when the injury occurred.
Tommy came back in 1976 after a year of therapy, exercise and running to win Comeback Player of the Year honors in the NL 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.
In his first major league win, he beat Baltimore on 72 pitches, 6-0, in 1964. Tommy had a good year in 1968, going 10-5, 1.98 before breaking his collar bone in a fight with Dick McAuliffe that ended his season. He's pitched six 2-hitters and seven 3-hitters, and his strikeout high is 13 against the Reds on August 8, 1972. TJ had his best NL success against the Dodgers' toughest opponents; he was 12-3 against the Reds and 8-2 over the Giants.
Tommy grew up in Terre Haute, Indiana where he received 35 scholarship offers upon graduation from Gerstmeyer High School. He attended Indiana State in Terre Haute, and following the 1979 season was given the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest award given by the school. An outstanding golfer, he has his own celebrity golf tournament in California for the benefit of cancer research. Tommy 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."
-1982 New York Yankees Media Guide
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