I remember when I was 15, in July of 1987, watching Tommy John on TV pitching for the Yankees against the future world champions Minnesota Twins. John went the whole way. He stroke out one batter, walked one batter, and induced something like twenty groundouts. Just a master of the craft of pitching to contact, who obviously belongs in the Hall. Beyond the surgery thar bears his name, he’s also a reminder of how much the game has changed.
I would have put Tommy John in for his pitching alone before Jim Kaat — although, Joe, I'm surprised you didn't mention Kitty is one of the best fielding pitchers of all time, and that's probably what put him over the hump with the Veterans' Committee. But 288 wins and that kind of longevity alone should have gotten TJ more serious consideration, and his magic tendon should have gotten him in long ago. If there was ever a no-brainer for me, he's it.
I've commented on other posts that my heuristic for a Hall of Famer is simply asking, Is he a Hall of Famer? If you have to debate, if the answer isn't obvious, then the answer is, No. But here, with this edge case of edge cases, Joe convinces me TJ is a Hall of Famer. There's something more to him than a stat line that adds up to Hall of Famer. He should be enshrined--as should Curt Flood, he for the ultimate example of "taking one for the team."
I agree. Tommy John should be in. But for pitching. I just don’t give a lot of weight to the surgery aspect. He only had two options – try a new surgery or go back to Terre Haute Indiana and become a grocery store manager or something like that. He really didn’t have much to lose.
the espn.com article on him today is really good. Frank Jobe thought the odds of success was very low. And he actually had to do a second surgery moving a nerve that was keeping John from having a functional arm. And it was also a very interesting that John in his training to go with his new bionic arm was helped a lot by Mike Marshall, the Dodgers reliever who had a PhD in kinesiology. Really interesting article to read.
He was one of my favorite players because he became a White Sox (my favorite team) player right when I was in the midst of my early baseball fandom. So I always liked him even after he moved on to other teams – well except for the Yankee time.
Electing people to the Hall of Fame after they have passed is sad. You can see the joy and happiness of players who are elected and to really deny some quality people this honor until after they’re gone is a shame.
And let's not give Dr. Jobe TOO much credit. After all, TJ said, "I asked him to put Koufax's fastball in my arm, but he gave me MRS. Koufax's fastball."
It got to the point that Tim McCarver took great pleasure in referring to those who had the surgery as "the patients of Jobe."
But without Tommy John, no such patients. And his record was enough. Cooperstown, the writers, and the veterans' committee blew this one.
I’m sure someone will say it better than I can….. He is a HOFer and now will join the sad lineup of those who died thinking they were not going only to make it after it really matters. I hope his family tells them to stick it when he gets in.
I remember when I was 15, in July of 1987, watching Tommy John on TV pitching for the Yankees against the future world champions Minnesota Twins. John went the whole way. He stroke out one batter, walked one batter, and induced something like twenty groundouts. Just a master of the craft of pitching to contact, who obviously belongs in the Hall. Beyond the surgery thar bears his name, he’s also a reminder of how much the game has changed.
Who was the second guy to have Tommy John surgery?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/strombr01.shtml
Tommy John should have been elected long ago on merit. Hall of Fame voting process needs a major overhaul!!
Come on Joe. Kaat won 16 Gold Glove awards. Wasn’t that worth mentioning and couldn’t that set him apart?
100% correct.
Crushingly sad that he didn't get in during his lifetime
I would have put Tommy John in for his pitching alone before Jim Kaat — although, Joe, I'm surprised you didn't mention Kitty is one of the best fielding pitchers of all time, and that's probably what put him over the hump with the Veterans' Committee. But 288 wins and that kind of longevity alone should have gotten TJ more serious consideration, and his magic tendon should have gotten him in long ago. If there was ever a no-brainer for me, he's it.
I've commented on other posts that my heuristic for a Hall of Famer is simply asking, Is he a Hall of Famer? If you have to debate, if the answer isn't obvious, then the answer is, No. But here, with this edge case of edge cases, Joe convinces me TJ is a Hall of Famer. There's something more to him than a stat line that adds up to Hall of Famer. He should be enshrined--as should Curt Flood, he for the ultimate example of "taking one for the team."
I agree. Tommy John should be in. But for pitching. I just don’t give a lot of weight to the surgery aspect. He only had two options – try a new surgery or go back to Terre Haute Indiana and become a grocery store manager or something like that. He really didn’t have much to lose.
the espn.com article on him today is really good. Frank Jobe thought the odds of success was very low. And he actually had to do a second surgery moving a nerve that was keeping John from having a functional arm. And it was also a very interesting that John in his training to go with his new bionic arm was helped a lot by Mike Marshall, the Dodgers reliever who had a PhD in kinesiology. Really interesting article to read.
He was one of my favorite players because he became a White Sox (my favorite team) player right when I was in the midst of my early baseball fandom. So I always liked him even after he moved on to other teams – well except for the Yankee time.
Electing people to the Hall of Fame after they have passed is sad. You can see the joy and happiness of players who are elected and to really deny some quality people this honor until after they’re gone is a shame.
Agreed.
And let's not give Dr. Jobe TOO much credit. After all, TJ said, "I asked him to put Koufax's fastball in my arm, but he gave me MRS. Koufax's fastball."
It got to the point that Tim McCarver took great pleasure in referring to those who had the surgery as "the patients of Jobe."
But without Tommy John, no such patients. And his record was enough. Cooperstown, the writers, and the veterans' committee blew this one.
I’m sure someone will say it better than I can….. He is a HOFer and now will join the sad lineup of those who died thinking they were not going only to make it after it really matters. I hope his family tells them to stick it when he gets in.
Damn. And Joe talked in this article about a mic-drop.
Yeah.