RismadarVoice Reporters
August 16, 2026
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Tommy John, whose name became synonymous with the groundbreaking elbow surgery that extended his career and later saved the careers of countless pitchers, has died at the age of 83.
John’s death was confirmed on Sunday by the Los Angeles Dodgers, one of the six MLB teams he represented during a 26-year career. He had reportedly been receiving hospice care.
John is survived by his wife and three children, Tommy, Travis and Tamara.
Dodgers President Stan Kasten described John as an exceptional pitcher whose courage in becoming the first recipient of the surgery that would bear his name left a lasting impact on baseball.
“His impact both on and off the field has been felt by ballplayers of all ages and will be for generations to come,” Kasten said.
John became best known for his years with the Dodgers and New York Yankees, although he also played for the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, California Angels and Oakland Athletics.
His career took a dramatic turn in 1974 when he suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow while with the Dodgers. At the time, the injury was widely considered potentially career-ending.
Dodgers team physician Dr Frank Jobe performed an experimental procedure in which the damaged ligament was replaced with a tendon taken from another part of John’s body.
The procedure, now widely known as Tommy John surgery, transformed the treatment of serious elbow injuries among baseball pitchers.
Following extensive rehabilitation, John returned to the Dodgers in 1976 and made 31 starts, recording two shutouts.
He went on to win 20 games in 1977 and again in 1979, establishing himself as one of the most successful pitchers of his generation. He subsequently signed with the Yankees and continued pitching for another 14 seasons.
John retired in 1989 after compiling 288 career wins and 2,245 strikeouts over 26 seasons. Despite his longevity and success, he never won the Cy Young Award.
The Yankees, in a statement following his death, described John as a “bedrock” of the club’s pitching rotation and praised his competitiveness, skill and role as both an athletic and medical pioneer.
John’s pioneering surgery has since been performed on some of baseball’s biggest stars, including Shohei Ohtani, Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Jacob deGrom.
Cole, who underwent the procedure himself, recently credited John with helping establish the rehabilitation path followed by generations of pitchers.
John’s legacy therefore extends beyond his statistics: the procedure that bears his name fundamentally changed the prospects of pitchers suffering one of baseball’s most devastating injuries.
