Tommy John, baseball player, 1963-1989

Tommy John

Born: 5/22/1943 in Terre Haute, IN, USA

MLB Debut: 1963-09-06 | Final Game: 1989-05-25

Bats: R | Throws: L | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 180 lbs

Full name: Thomas Edward John

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Biography

Tommy John, born in 1943, was a distinguished Major League Baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1963 to 1989. Known for his exceptional durability and skill on the mound, John finished his career with a record of 288 wins and 231 losses, along with a commendable earned run average (ERA) of 3.34. Over his 26-year career, he recorded 2,245 strikeouts and made four All-Star selections, showcasing his status as one of the premier pitchers of his era. John's impact on the game extended beyond his impressive statistics; he became synonymous with the surgical procedure that now bears his name, the "Tommy John surgery." This innovative elbow reconstruction technique revolutionized the treatment of pitching injuries, allowing countless athletes to return to the sport after severe injuries. John's resilience and success after undergoing the procedure in 1974 not only extended his career but also transformed baseball's approach to arm injuries, making him a pivotal figure in the evolution of player health and recovery in the sport. His legacy continues to influence young pitchers and the medical practices within baseball today.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
288 231 760 700 162 46 4 4710.3 4783 1749 302 1259 2245 3.34 0

Career ERA 3.34 vs. league average 3.70 across their career seasons — 9.7% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1963 CLE AL 0 2 6 3 0 0 0 20.3 23 5 6 9 2.21 3.46 (+36%) 173.8
1964 CLE AL 2 9 25 14 2 1 0 94.3 97 41 35 65 3.91 3.58 (-9%) -330.5
1965 CHW AL 14 7 39 27 6 1 3 183.7 162 63 58 126 3.09 3.50 (+12%) -
1966 CHW AL 14 11 34 33 10 5 0 223.0 195 65 57 138 2.62 3.52 (+25%) -
1967 CHW AL 10 13 31 29 9 6 0 178.3 143 49 47 110 2.47 3.30 (+25%) -
1968 CHW AL 10 5 25 25 5 1 0 177.3 135 39 49 117 1.98 2.98 (+34%) -
1969 CHW AL 9 11 33 33 6 2 0 232.3 230 84 90 128 3.25 3.61 (+10%) -
1970 CHW AL 12 17 37 37 10 3 0 269.3 253 98 101 138 3.27 3.89 (+16%) -
1971 CHW AL 13 16 38 35 10 3 0 229.3 244 92 58 131 3.61 3.47 (-4%) -
1972 LAD NL 11 5 29 29 4 1 0 186.7 172 60 40 117 2.89 3.26 (+11%) -
1973 LAD NL 16 7 36 31 4 2 0 218.0 202 75 50 116 3.10 3.75 (+17%) -
1974 LAD NL 13 3 22 22 5 3 0 153.0 133 44 42 78 2.59 3.63 (+29%) -
1976 LAD NL 10 10 31 31 6 2 0 207.0 207 71 61 91 3.09 3.51 (+12%) -
1977 LAD NL 20 7 31 31 11 3 0 220.3 225 68 50 123 2.78 4.00 (+31%) -
1978 LAD NL 17 10 33 30 7 0 1 213.0 230 78 53 124 3.30 3.69 (+11%) -
1979 NYY AL 21 9 37 36 17 3 0 276.3 268 91 65 111 2.96 4.00 (+26%) -
1980 NYY AL 22 9 36 36 16 6 0 265.3 270 101 56 78 3.43 3.84 (+11%) -
1981 NYY AL 9 8 20 20 7 0 0 140.3 135 41 39 50 2.63 3.58 (+27%) -
1982 NYY AL 10 10 30 26 9 2 0 186.7 190 76 34 54 3.66 3.86 (+5%) -
1982 LAA AL 4 2 7 7 1 0 0 35.0 49 15 5 14 3.86 3.86 (avg) -
1983 LAA AL 11 13 34 34 9 0 0 234.7 287 113 49 65 4.33 3.87 (-12%) -
1984 LAA AL 7 13 32 29 4 1 0 181.3 223 91 56 47 4.52 3.81 (-19%) -
1985 LAA AL 2 4 12 6 0 0 0 38.3 51 20 15 17 4.70 3.89 (-21%) -
1985 OAK AL 2 6 11 11 0 0 0 48.0 66 33 13 8 6.19 3.89 (-59%) -1160.4
1986 NYY AL 5 3 13 10 1 0 0 70.7 73 23 15 28 2.93 3.97 (+26%) -
1987 NYY AL 13 6 33 33 3 1 0 187.7 212 84 47 63 4.03 4.29 (+6%) -
1988 NYY AL 9 8 35 32 0 0 0 176.3 221 88 46 81 4.49 3.73 (-20%) -
1989 NYY AL 2 7 10 10 0 0 0 63.7 87 41 22 18 5.80 3.71 (-56%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
761 900 43 141 13 0 5 54 0 33 211 0.157 0.187 0.188 0.375 -6442.1

Career AVG .157 vs. league average .255 across their career seasons — 38.5% below league average.

Career OBP .187 vs. league average .320 across their career seasons — 41.7% below league average.

Career SLG .188 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 50.5% below league average.

Career OPS 0.375 vs. league average 0.699 across their career seasons — 46.5% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1963 CLE AL 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1964 CLE AL 25 24 3 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 7 0.208 — — — — 0.0
1965 CHW AL 39 59 4 10 1 0 1 2 0 3 22 0.169 .245 (-31%) .310 (-33%) .371 (-36%) .682 (-35%) -332.3
1966 CHW AL 34 69 6 10 1 0 2 8 0 3 21 0.145 .248 (-42%) .309 (-42%) .376 (-35%) .685 (-38%) -428.0
1967 CHW AL 31 51 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 1 12 0.157 .242 (-35%) .306 (-45%) .357 (-56%) .663 (-51%) -412.3
1968 CHW AL 25 62 3 12 1 0 1 9 0 0 15 0.194 .236 (-18%) .298 (-35%) .340 (-24%) .638 (-29%) -283.8
1969 CHW AL 33 79 6 9 2 0 0 1 0 7 27 0.114 .248 (-54%) .320 (-43%) .369 (-62%) .689 (-53%) -691.5
1970 CHW AL 38 84 4 17 1 0 0 5 0 2 17 0.202 .253 (-20%) .325 (-29%) .385 (-44%) .711 (-38%) -525.0
1971 CHW AL 38 69 3 10 0 0 0 2 0 3 14 0.145 .249 (-42%) .316 (-43%) .365 (-60%) .682 (-52%) -578.9
1972 LAD NL 29 63 3 10 0 0 0 2 0 0 10 0.159 .243 (-35%) .310 (-49%) .353 (-55%) .664 (-52%) -512.4
1973 LAD NL 36 74 3 15 1 0 0 7 0 4 17 0.203 .256 (-21%) .325 (-25%) .378 (-43%) .703 (-35%) -419.5
1974 LAD NL 22 51 0 6 2 0 0 2 0 2 10 0.118 .256 (-54%) .324 (-53%) .369 (-58%) .693 (-56%) -460.1
1976 LAD NL 31 64 3 7 1 0 0 3 0 2 10 0.109 .255 (-57%) .320 (-57%) .360 (-65%) .681 (-62%) -631.5
1977 LAD NL 31 79 3 14 1 0 1 4 0 3 14 0.177 .264 (-33%) .329 (-38%) .401 (-43%) .730 (-41%) -558.2
1978 LAD NL 33 66 2 8 2 0 0 6 0 3 13 0.121 .257 (-53%) .323 (-51%) .378 (-60%) .702 (-56%) -608.3
1979 NYY AL 37 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1980 NYY AL 36 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 NYY AL 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 NYY AL 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 LAA AL 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1983 LAA AL 34 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 LAA AL 32 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 LAA AL 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1985 OAK AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 NYY AL 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 NYY AL 33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 NYY AL 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 NYY AL 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
14 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.083

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1982 ALCS CAL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 AEDIV NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1981 WS NYA 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1980 ALCS NYA 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1978 NLCS LAN 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1978 WS LAN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1977 NLCS LAN 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.200
1977 WS LAN 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
6 3 14 13 0 88.3 82 26 24 48 2.65

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1982 ALCS CAL 1 1 2 2 0 12.3 11 7 6 6 5.11
1981 AEDIV NYA 0 1 1 1 0 7.0 8 5 2 0 6.43
1981 ALCS NYA 1 0 1 1 0 6.0 6 1 1 3 1.50
1981 WS NYA 1 0 3 2 0 13.0 11 1 0 8 0.69
1980 ALCS NYA 0 0 1 1 0 6.7 8 2 1 3 2.70
1978 NLCS LAN 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 4 0 2 4 0.00
1978 WS LAN 1 0 2 2 0 14.7 14 5 4 6 3.07
1977 NLCS LAN 1 0 2 2 0 13.7 11 1 5 11 0.66
1977 WS LAN 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 9 4 3 7 6.00

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 760 700 237 1028 49 69

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1963 CLE P 6 3 1 3 0 0
1964 CLE P 25 14 5 16 0 2
1965 CHA P 39 27 4 51 5 3
1966 CHA P 34 33 8 47 5 0
1967 CHA P 31 29 17 55 2 4
1968 CHA P 25 25 10 54 1 6
1969 CHA P 33 33 16 66 0 4
1970 CHA P 37 37 15 65 8 3
1971 CHA P 38 35 9 34 3 2
1972 LAN P 29 29 11 45 0 3
1973 LAN P 36 31 15 64 1 6
1974 LAN P 22 22 3 36 1 3
1976 LAN P 31 31 3 33 1 2
1977 LAN P 31 31 6 47 1 5
1978 LAN P 33 30 8 45 3 1
1979 NYA P 37 36 15 51 3 5
1980 NYA P 36 36 16 46 1 4
1981 NYA P 20 20 11 27 0 2
1982 NYA P 30 26 8 40 2 1
1982 CAL P 7 7 2 8 0 0
1983 CAL P 34 34 16 39 0 4
1984 CAL P 32 29 15 27 0 2
1985 CAL P 12 6 4 9 0 2
1985 OAK P 11 11 4 13 0 0
1986 NYA P 13 10 4 15 3 2
1987 NYA P 33 33 4 31 5 1
1988 NYA P 35 32 4 40 4 2
1989 NYA P 10 10 3 21 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 760

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1981 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1980 Player of the Week Week of 1980-05-09
1980 TSN All-Star LHP
1979 Pitcher of the Month April
1979 Player of the Week Week of 1979-05-18
1977 Player of the Week Week of 1977-08-12
1976 Hutch Award
1976 TSN Comeback Player of the Year
1974 Player of the Month April
1974 Player of the Week Week of 1974-04-26

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1988 NYA AL $375,000
1987 NYA AL $350,000
1986 CAL AL $440,000
1986 NYA AL $60,000
1985 OAK AL $600,000
Total Career Earnings $1,825,000

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1980 Cy Young Award AL 4th 14.0 140 0
1979 Cy Young Award AL 2nd 51.0 140 1
1979 Most Valuable Player AL 22th 5.0 392 0
1978 Cy Young Award NL 8th 1.0 120 0
1977 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 54.0 120 3
1977 Most Valuable Player NL 12th 33.0 336 0