Tommy John belongs in the Hall of Fame; his name is synonymous with comebacks

You simply can’t make a compelling argument, or even a reasonable one, that Tommy John doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame.

Here’s the bottom-line: He has a career-saving surgery named after him. Before Tommy John, a torn ulnar collateral ligament meant the end of a pitcher’s career. Period. When he had the surgery, he was given a 1 in 100 chance of success. But he went on to win another 14 seasons, including his best seasons. And his name came up again today because Washington Nationals rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg will have to undergo Tommy John surgery.

This is seen as a setback, but not a career-ender because of Tommy John. He was having a great year for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1974, 13-3 with a 2.59 ERA and three shutouts in only 22 games when the torn ligament ended his season and threatened his career. But by 1976, John was back and better than ever. Before the injury, he was a good but not great pitcher, leading the National League in winning percentage in 1973 and ’74 and leading the American League in shutouts in 1966 and ’67, but never winning more than 16 games.

After the surgery, John won 20 games once for the Dodgers and twice for the Yankees, each time with a winning percentage of .700 or higher. Damn few Hall of Fame pitchers can boast of three seasons with 20 or more wins and fewer than 10 losses. He won 288 games, falling just short of the 300-win plateau that resulted in automatic selection for some lesser pitchers. He has the most wins of any pitcher who didn’t reach 300 (and thus, every eligible pitcher with more wins is in the Hall of Fame). Twelve wins short, a number John easily would have reached if he had pitched in 1975.

Here’s a quick comparison between Tommy John and Don Sutton, contemporaries whose long careers overlapped nearly exactly. John pitched from 1963 to 1989, Sutton from 1966 to 1988. Both pitched in both leagues. They were Dodger teammates for six years, not counting the year John spent recovering from surgery. John was clearly better in 1977 and ’78. Sutton was clearly better in 1972. They were pretty close in 1973 (Sutton 18-10, John 16-7, leading the league in ERA). Both had great years in 1974 (John’s year abbreviated by the injury). Sutton also was better in 1976, John’s first year back from injury. Sutton had more pretty good seasons (13 wins or more, with a winning record): 15 to 9. But all three of John’s 20-win seasons were better than Sutton’s only one. Neither was the dominant pitcher of the ERA, but John was more often one of the best: second in Cy Young voting twice; while Sutton’s best finish was third. John led the league in shutouts three times, Sutton once. John led the league in winning percentage twice, Sutton once in ERA. John was a little better in the post-season, 6-3 with a 2.65 ERA to 6-4, 3.68, and a lot better in the World Series, 2-1, 2.67, to 2-3, 5.26. Their ERAs and career winning percentages are nearly identical, though Sutton had a lot more strikeouts. If Sutton had ended up at 288 wins instead of 324, no one would suggest he was a better pitcher than John.

Since John inspired baseball players and fans with his comeback, some 180 baseball pitchers have undergone the surgery, including Cy Young winners (after the surgery) John Smoltz and Cris Carpenter.

I saw his last major league win, pitching for the Yankees in 1989 in Royals Stadium. He looked good that night, but ended the season 2-7 and finally retired. It’s ridiculous that he’s not in the Hall of Fame. I haven’t seen Strasburg pitch yet, my one regret of this very busy summer in Washington. Maybe next year. Thanks to Tommy John surgery.

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