TJ Surgery Tracker Updater
April.14/2012
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DR. FRANK JOBE, who will turn 87 in the summer of 2012, is a renowned orthopedic surgeon who revolutionized the medical care and prolonged the careers of baseball pitchers with his groundbreaking tendon transplant procedure now known as the “Tommy John” surgery. In 1974, Dodgers pitcher TOMMY JOHN was diagnosed with a torn ligament in his left (pitching) elbow, apparently ending his career. In an experimental surgery, which he estimated at the time as having 1% odds for a successful outcome, Jobe transplanted a tendon from John’s right forearm to his left elbow. After more than a year of rehabilitation, John and his bionic arm returned to the mound, where he pitched for 14 more seasons and racked up 164 of his 288 career victories before retiring at the age of 46. Today, the procedure is commonplace among professional and amateur pitchers. It has been estimated that Jobe performed more than 1,000 Tommy John surgeries himself and that nearly 200 major leaguers – not all of them pitchers – have had their careers extended by the procedure.
In a recent interview with Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News, Jobe discussed how he and John decided to proceed with the surgery, thus establishing a relationship of trust between doctor and patient: “Tommy happened to be in my office talking, and we already had told him about all the potential complications. I was ready to sign his papers for retirement. I wasn’t even sure I should have brought [the operation idea] up in our conversation. I had no idea if it would be successful. I really wasn’t sure. We got to a point where we kind of looked at each other and he said, ‘That makes sense, let’s do it.’ I think those were the three words that changed the course of baseball medicine for the rest of time. ‘Let’s do it.’”
After a long and grueling rehabilitation, John returned to the mound with the Dodgers in 1976, completing 207 innings, recording 10 wins with a 3.09 ERA, and receiving both the National League Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Fred Hutchinson Award for Outstanding Character and Courage. That he was a better pitcher after the experimental surgery was fully evident by 1977, as John won 20 games with a 2.78 ERA, earning him a second-place finish to Steve Carlton in Cy Young Award balloting. Reliquarian Michael Fallon, in his biographical profile of Tommy John for the Society for American Baseball Research, noted that the pitcher revolutionized “athlete’s attitudes toward medicine. With 164 of his 288 victories coming after the surgery, John shattered the barrier that said players could not play after undergoing surgery.” Fallon added that, despite having the most wins of any eligible pitcher not inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, John’s “pioneering gumption, his ability to endure and come back from adversity does put him among baseball’s all-time elite.”
The two figures made medical history nearly 40 years ago.
For all the talk of baseball players (pitchers mostly) that will be undergoing Tommy John Surgery, we will be keeping a running list! E-mail us at mlbreports@me.com if you have any names to add to our totals. How many players are having TJ? You are about to find out:
TOMMY JOHN SURGERY – 2012
Manny Banuelos – Yankees: October 3, 2012
Randy Wolf – Orioles: TJ Watch (September 26, 2012)
Chad Billingsley – Dodgers: TJ Watch (September 8, 2012)
Juan Carlos Oviedo (AKA Leo Nunez) – Marlins: September 6, 2012
Lucas Giolito – Nationals: August 31st, 2012
Josh Tomlin – Indians: August 22nd, 2012
Carl Crawford – Red Sox: August 23rd, 2012
MLB Tommy John Surgery Updates: Feature Article by Bernie Olshansky (August 16, 2012)
Drew Hutchison – Blue Jays: August 7, 2012
Scott Atchison – Red Sox: TJ Watch (August 2, 2012)
Neftali Feliz – Rangers: August 1, 2012
Eric Surkamp – Giants: July 25, 2012
Colby Lewis – Rangers: July 23, 2012
Joe Wieland – Padres: July 17, 2012
Luis Perez – Blue Jays: July 17, 2012
Todd Coffey – July 4, 2012 (2nd TJ surgery)
Daniel Hudson – Diamondbacks: July 1, 2012
Felipe Paulino – Royals: June 22, 2012
Brandon Beachy – Braves: June 21, 2012
Kyle Drabek – Blue Jays: June 19, 2012 (2nd- 2007)
David Herndon – Phillies: June 19, 2012
Charlie Morton – Pirates: June 14, 2012
Ryan Beckman – Pirates: June 12, 2002
Andrew Carignan – Athletics: June 7, 2012
Juan Pablo Oramas – Padres: June 3, 2012
Jose Contreras – Phillies: June 3, 2012 (announcement expected soon)
Cory Luebke – Padres: May 21, 2012
Blake Wood – Royals: May 19, 2012
A.J. Jimenez – Jays: May 19, 2012
Danny Duffy – Royals: May 14, 2012
Tsuyoshi Wada– Orioles: May 2, 2012
Mike Pelfrey– Mets: May 1, 2012
Joe Beimel-Free Agent: May 2012
George Sherrill – Mariners: April 29, 2012
Michael Pineda– Yankees: April 26, 2012 (honorable mention: torn labrum, arthroscopic surgery)
Jeremy Bonderman– FA: April 24, 2012
Brian Wilson– Giants: April 20, 2012 (2nd surgery- 1st in 2003)
Danny Herrera– Mets: April 2012
Scott Baker– Twins: April 17, 2012
Michael Kohn– Angels:
Joey Devine– Athletics: April 11, 2012 (2nd surgery- 1st April 21, 2009)
Ryan Madson– Reds: April 11, 2012
Joakim Soria– Royals: April 2012 (2nd surgery)
Jose Ceda– Marlins: April 3, 2012
Sergio Escalona– Astros: March 24, 2012
Arodys Vizcaino– Braves: March 2012
Joel Zumaya– Twins: March 2012 (2nd surgery)
- Dr. James Andrews – leading Tommy John surgeon
To learn more about Tommy John surgery and the process behind it, please check out our Guest MLB Blog by Blue Jays prospect, Johnny Anderson: https://mlbreports.com/2012/04/14/tj-surgery/
TOMMY JOHN SURGERY – 2011 AND OLDER
John Lackey– Red Sox: November 1, 2011
Kyle Gibson– Twins: September 7, 2011
Carlos Carrasco– Indians: September 6, 2011
Juan Gutierrez– Royals: September 2011
Zack Cozart (SS)- Reds: August 12, 2011
Brad Hawpe (1B/OF)- Rangers: August 5, 2011
Rubby De La Rosa– Dodgers: August 2011
David Aardsma– Yankees: July 22, 2011
Brett Anderson– A’s: July 14, 2011
Johnny Anderson- Jays: July 12, 2011 (2nd surgery- 1st in 2010)
Jose Casilla– Giants: July 2011
Carlos Monasterios– Dodgers: July 2011
Joba Chamberlain– Yankees: June 10, 2011
Rich Hill– Red Sox: June 9, 2011
Daisuke Matsuzaka– Red Sox: June 2, 2011
Mason Tobin– Rangers: June 1, 2011 (2nd surgery- 1st 2010)
John Lamb– Royals: June 2011
Drew Naylor– Phillies: June 2011
Jorge De La Rosa– Rockies: May 25, 2011
Cam Bedrosian- Angels: May 2011
Jenrry Mejia– Mets: May 2011
Stephen Marek– Jays: May 2011
Boof Bonser– Giants: April 2011
Matt Gorgen– Diamondbacks: March 2011
Adam Wainwright– Cardinals: February 28, 2011
Jamie Moyer– Phillies: December 1, 2010
Stephen Strasburg– Nationals: September 2010
John Baker – Marlins: September 2010
Hector Ambriz– Indians: September 30, 2010
Manny Corpas- Rockies: September 7, 2010
Erick Threets– A’s: September 2010
Michael Ynoa – A’s: August 24, 2010
Kris Medlen– Braves: August 18, 2010
Ben Sheets– A’s: August 9, 2010
Kyle Blanks– Padres: July 28, 2010
Donald Veal – Pirates: May 2010
Jose Arredondo – Angels: December 11, 2009
Jordan Zimmermann– Nationals: August 2009
Edinson Volquez– Reds: 2009
Jason Isringhausen– Rays: June 13, 2009
Bill Bray – Reds: April 2009
Dallas Trahern – Marlins: 2009
Erik Bedard – Mariners: 2009
Andrew Sisco – Athletics: 2009
Jaime Garcia– Cardinals: September 8, 2008
Tim Hudson– Braves: August 8, 2008
Jake Westbrook – Indians: June 7, 2008
Mark Prior– Cubs: 2008
Billy Wagner: 2008
Shaun Marcum – Blue Jays: 2008
Chris Capuano: Brewers: 2008 and (Dbacks: May 17, 2002)- 2 surgeries
Josh Johnson– Marlins: 2007
Ambiorix Burgos – Mets: August 28, 2007
Matt Bush– Padres: August 26, 2007
Andrew Brackman – Yankees: August 2007
Chris Carpenter– Cardinals: July 24, 2007
Brad Lincoln: April 2007
B.J. Ryan – Blue Jays: 2007 (2nd surgery)
Francisco Liriano– Twins: November 2006
Kelly Johnson – Braves: June 1, 2006
Grant Balfour– Twins: May 13, 2005
Joe Mays – Twins: 2005
Eric Gagne– Dodgers: 2005 (2nd surgery- 1st in 1997)
Octavio Dotel: 2005
Anthony Vavaro: 2005
Bong Jung-Keun
Brian Duensing: 2004
John Axford: December 2003
C.J. Wilson – Rangers: August 12, 2003
Rick Ankiel – Cardinals: July 2003
A.J. Burnett– Marlins: April 29, 2003
Hong-Chih Kuo – Dodgers: 2003 (2nd surgery- 1st in 2003)
Ryan Dempster: 2003
Zach Braddock: 2003
Jeff Manship: 2003
Jason Grilli: 2002
Ben Kozlowski – Reds: 2003
Ryan Vogelsong – Pirates: 2001
Jason Frasor: 2001 (2nd Tommy John)
Pat Hentgen: 2001
John Smoltz– Braves: 2000
Kerry Wood– Cubs: March 1999
Scott Schoeneweis: 1994
Jose Canseco – Rangers: July 9, 1993
John Farrell – Cleveland: 1991
Tommy John- Dodgers: September 25, 1974 (Dr. Frank Jobe performed first operation)
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Posted on April 24, 2012, in The Rest: Everything Baseball. Bookmark the permalink. Comments Off on TJ Surgery Tracker Updater.
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