Tommy John surgery
Tom·my John surgery
noun \ˈtäm-ē-ˈjän-\Definition of TOMMY JOHN SURGERY
Biographical Note for TOMMY JOHN SURGERY
John, Thomas Edward (born 1943), American baseball player. As a left-handed pitcher, John enjoyed a 26-year career in the major leagues, most notably with the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the New York Yankees. During the 1974 season he permanently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching arm. In a revolutionary surgical procedure, the elbow tendon in his left arm was replaced with a tendon from his right wrist. Despite predictions that he would never pitch again, he made a full recovery and returned to baseball in 1976. From that point until his retirement in 1989, he pitched a total of 164 winning games.
