Why Tommy John's MLB legacy is much greater than namesake elbow surgery originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Former MLB pitcher Tommy John died at the age of 83 on Sunday, more than a week after he entered hospice care and penned a farewell letter to fans.
John's name is known by baseball fans of all ages not for his work on the mound, but for the revolutionary elbow surgery that bears his name. The surgery has saved countless careers in the five decades since it was first performed, and John's willingness to take the risk changed the sport forever.
With that being said, John's results on the mound both before and after the surgery made quite an impact as well, leading some to make the case that he should be a Hall of Famer.
Here's a look back at John's MLB career beyond his namesake elbow surgery.
MORE:Watch these White Sox 'Peace by with you' videos to feel better about the world
Tommy John's MLB legacy
John pitched in 26 different seasons, not including the season he missed due to the elbow surgery that now bears his name. With 700 starts and eight full or nearly full seasons with a sub-3 ERA, John was a reliable starter for a literal generation.
John's career can be split into two nearly even halves: he made 318 starts before undergoing major elbow surgery, posting a 2.97 ERA with 1,273 strikeouts and 124 wins. Perhaps the best season of John's career came during the "Year of the Pitcher" in 1968, when the AL and NL MVP awards were both won by pitchers and MLB was forced to lower the mound to even out the leaguewide pitching advantage. John posted a 1.98 ERA and 1.04 WHIP across 25 starts, finishing 10-5 on a White Sox team that went just 67-95.
After Dr. Frank Jobe gave him the option of experimental surgery to reconstruct the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his elbow, John went forward with the procedure despite long odds of ever pitching again. It took John several months and another surgery just to regain full feeling in his hand, but he returned in 1976 against all odds and pitched 14 more seasons.
John's post-surgery career was so successful that it would be an impressive career on its own. The left-hander posted a 3.66 ERA across 2,544.2 innings from ages 33-46, twice finishing second in Cy Young voting and earning three of his four All-Star selections. In the six years immediately following surgery, John had a 3.06 ERA and pitched in three World Series.
John finished his career with a 61.1 WAR (wins above replacement), according to Baseball-Reference. A 60-WAR career is generally considered an unofficial baseline for the Hall of Fame. John isn't a Hall of Famer, likely because his gaudy career totals came over a lengthy 26-season span, but he certainly has a case.
Here's a complete look at John's career from a statistical standpoint.
Tommy John stats
| Season | Team(s) | Starts | IP | W-L | ERA | K |
| 1963 | Indians | 3 | 20.1 | 0-2 | 2.21 | 9 |
| 1964 | Indians | 14 | 94.1 | 2-9 | 3.91 | 65 |
| 1965 | White Sox | 27 | 183.2 | 14-7 | 3.09 | 126 |
| 1966 | White Sox | 33 | 223.0 | 14-11 | 2.62 | 138 |
| 1967 | White Sox | 29 | 178.1 | 10-13 | 2.47 | 110 |
| 1968 | White Sox | 25 | 177.1 | 10-5 | 1.98 | 117 |
| 1969 | White Sox | 33 | 232.1 | 9-11 | 3.25 | 128 |
| 1970 | White Sox | 37 | 269.1 | 12-17 | 3.27 | 138 |
| 1971 | White Sox | 35 | 229.1 | 13-16 | 3.61 | 131 |
| 1972 | Dodgers | 29 | 186.2 | 11-5 | 2.89 | 117 |
| 1973 | Dodgers | 31 | 218.0 | 16-7 | 3.10 | 116 |
| 1974 | Dodgers | 22 | 153.0 | 13-3 | 2.59 | 78 |
| 1976 | Dodgers | 31 | 207.0 | 10-10 | 3.09 | 91 |
| 1977 | Dodgers | 31 | 220.1 | 20-7 | 2.78 | 123 |
| 1978 | Dodgers | 30 | 213.0 | 17-10 | 3.30 | 124 |
| 1979 | Yankees | 36 | 276.1 | 21-9 | 2.96 | 111 |
| 1980 | Yankees | 36 | 265.1 | 22-9 | 3.43 | 78 |
| 1981 | Yankees | 20 | 140.1 | 9-8 | 2.63 | 50 |
| 1982 | Yankees/Angels | 33 | 221.2 | 14-12 | 3.69 | 68 |
| 1983 | Angels | 34 | 234.2 | 11-13 | 4.33 | 65 |
| 1984 | Angels | 29 | 181.1 | 7-13 | 4.52 | 47 |
| 1985 | Angels/Athletics | 17 | 86.1 | 4-10 | 5.53 | 25 |
| 1986 | Yankees | 10 | 70.2 | 5-3 | 2.93 | 28 |
| 1987 | Yankees | 33 | 187.2 | 13-6 | 4.03 | 63 |
| 1988 | Yankees | 32 | 176.1 | 9-8 | 4.49 | 81 |
| 1989 | Yankees | 10 | 63.2 | 2-7 | 5.80 | 18 |
| Career | 700 | 4,710.1 | 288-231 | 3.34 | 2,245 |
John finished his career just shy of the 300-win milestone and had a 3.34 ERA across 4,710.1 innings.
How long did Tommy John pitch?
John spent 27 seasons in the major leagues, missing the 1975 season after reconstructive elbow surgery but pitching in the remaining 26. The left-hander pitched for 14 seasons after the surgery, turning what was believed to be a career-ending injury into a stretch that lasted even longer than his pre-surgery career.
Is Tommy John a Hall of Famer?
John has a lasting legacy because of the surgery that bears his name, but he still isn't a Hall of Famer. John didn't receive much support during his 15 years on the modern-era ballot, topping out at 31.7 percent of votes while needing 75 percent.
Despite falling off the modern-era ballot, John could still earn posthumous induction into the Hall of Fame through the Classic Baseball Era Committee, which meets every three years. John received seven of 16 votes when the committee last met in late 2024, but he needed 12 to get to Cooperstown.
With a WAR exceeding 60 and more than a quarter-century of success, many believe John deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. Working against John could be a lack of accolades, as he never won a Cy Young Award and was on the losing side of all three World Series he appeared in. John also wasn't a strikeout-reliant pitcher, so he only finished with 2,245 despite having such a lengthy career.