It’s not often a player can be credited with saving the careers of thousands of players who followed him or ensured that a select few of those would go on to earn hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to his courage.
Yet Tommy John, in conjunction with orthopedist Frank Jobe, did just that for generations of pitchers.
John died Saturday, Aug. 15 at the age of 83, his 288-win career almost a footnote in the grand scope of his life. He served as patient No. 1 for the surgery that would eventually bear his name is among the most significant off-field impacts a player can make.
When he agreed to let Jobe replace the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow in 1974, it was a journey into the unknown at the intersection of sports and medicine. Nowadays,
the surgical scar and the established protocols for recovery, regaining strength and eventually returning to the mound are well-established and even more evolved.
Yet all that was foreign to Jobe and John. And you could fill up a wing of the Hall of Fame with those who have benefited.
Here’s 12 legendary pitchers whose careers were saved or extended by Tommy John surgery:
John Smoltz
Career record: 213-55, 154 saves
WAR: 69.0
Notable: In his first iteration, Smoltz was the warning shot fired that the dynastic Braves of the 1990s were coming. He became a World Series champion by 1995 and in ’96 authored one of the most dominant seasons of that decade, winning 24 games and striking out a major league-high 276. Yet he blew out his elbow before the 2000 season, leaving his career at a crossroads. "There weren't many 34-year-olds, in my mind, having Tommy John surgery," Smoltz told The Athletic in 2018. "I was going to be in the final year of my contract and I just figured that no one would want a 34-year-old who had Tommy John surgery. I just didn't think it was going to be worth it. I was pretty down and out and ready to call it quits." That is, until Tommy John himself called. John noted that he was the same age – 34 – when he went under Jobe’s knife. So Smoltz went for it – and what a second act. He toggled to the bullpen and saved a major league-high 55 games in 2002, followed by 45- and 43-save seasons for Atlanta. Returning to the rotation in 2005, he logged 229 innings and while he only struck out 169, his 3.06 ERA was still 39% better than average. He’d pitch through 2009 and earn election to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Justin Verlander
Career record: 266-159
WAR: 82.3
Notable: It’s true: The lion’s share of Verlander’s achievements – 226 wins, 3,013 strikeouts, two Cy Young Awards and 72.3 WAR – were achieved before Verlander’s elbow went out after one start in 2020. But his return to dominance after Tommy John showed that yes, a generational pitcher could return to such heights even after the procedure – and even at the age of 39. That’s how old Verlander was in 2022, when he won a third Cy Young, led the majors with a 1.75 ERA and bagged his second World Series title, earning his first Fall Classic win that autumn. Verlander, who announced he is retiring after this season, indeed had a freakish arm, one that seemed bulletproof as he logged at least 30 starts in all but one season from 2006 to 2019. When the tiniest and most important ligament for a pitcher finally failed, he could still be put back together.
Shohei Ohtani
Career record: 47-22
WAR (pitching only): 19.2
Notable: It’s possible the game’s most talented player ever might have been a four-time MVP had his pitching career ended in 2018, when he first blew out his elbow. Fortunately, we’ll never have to know. Ohtani did not pitch in 2019 and made just two appearances in the shortened 2020 season, but then unleashed the full fury of his two-way powers. From 2021-2023, he posted a 2.84 ERA and struck out 11.4 batters per nine innings over 74 starts, his ’23 season likely the zenith of his multi-positional brilliance. Alas, that pitching season ended after a second UCL injury and another repair commenced after the season. That only makes his third pitching act even more remarkable: Ohtani’s come back from Surgery II even more precise, with a 2.17 ERA and 0.98 WHIP over 28 starts the past two seasons. That doesn’t include his Greatest Game Ever in the 2025 NLCS. While other maladies are impacting his pitching, Tommy John surgery allowed the world to enjoy every bit of Ohtani’s talents.
Chris Sale
Career record: 157-96
WAR: 61.4
Notable: Sale was already a World Series champion and two-time AL strikeout champ by the time his ligament failed him just before the 2020 COVID-19 shutdown. Yet think of what he’s done since: A 2024 NL Cy Young Award in which he was the league’s pitching triple crown winner and three consecutive All-Star berths for the perennially contending Braves. Sale likes his new ligament and team so much, he signed on for $27 million in 2027 plus an option for ’28, when he’ll be 39 years old.
Zack Wheeler
Career record: 123-79
WAR: 44.2
Notable: Probably the best modern example of a storied career almost totally attributable to Tommy John surgery. Wheeler had just one full big league year under his belt when he underwent the procedure in May 2015, and the Mets reaped the benefits of Peak Wheeler just one season. But what a decade it’s been since his return: Three All-Star appearances, 1,686 strikeouts, a 105-63 record and, since 2022, annual trips to the playoffs with the Philadelphia Phillies. Now 36, Wheeler may possibly retire after 2027, having grossed nearly $255 million in salary – almost all of it after TJ.
Nathan Eovaldi
Career record: 112-93
WAR: 25.9
Notable: One of the most significant pitchers on this list, as he represents so many modern pitfalls of the game: Tommy John surgery at 17, an ethos from the very beginning to throw the ball as hard as possible at all times, and then another Tommy John procedure as a pro, in 2017. Yet you’ll find few pitchers who have grinded through to accomplish so much. Eovaldi is now a two-time World Series champion and what he contributed to runs by the Red Sox and Texas Rangers in 2018 and 2023, respectively, cannot be overestimated. Signed for $24 million next season, Eovaldi may gross close to $200 million for his career.
Jacob deGrom
Career record: 104-73
WAR: 49.8
Notable: You wonder how often Eovaldi and deGrom, who now share a clubhouse with the Rangers, look at each other and think, “Been there, done that.” DeGrom is also a two-time TJ survivor, though his first one came as a professional, with the Mets in 2010. That worked out OK: By 2014, deGrom was NL Rookie of the Year and by 2018 won the first of two consecutive Cy Young Awards. Just a staggering run from 2017 to 2019, when he struck out 239, 265 and 255 batters in consecutive seasons, posted a 2.53 ERA and had a 5.12 strikeout-walk ratio. The Rangers guaranteed him $180 million in 2023, but his elbow failed him, and a second UCL procedure was needed after just six starts. In 2026, he’s back to striking out 11 batters per inning (even if he only goes five a start these days) and perhaps might sync up with Eovaldi for a daunting playoff duo.
Max Fried
Career record: 96-45
WAR: 31.3
Notable: Yet another kid whose career might have never taken flight had the surgery not been both pioneered but also perfected. Fried went under the knife as a San Diego Padres prospect in August 2014, and then shipped to the Atlanta Braves in a six-player blockbuster involving Justin Upton. You might say the Braves were wise to buy low: Fried produced two All-Star seasons and a Cy Young runner-up campaign in Atlanta and won them the 2021 World Series before signing a $218 million contract with the Yankees in December 2024.
Stephen Strasburg
Career record: 113-62
WAR: 32.3
Notable: Perhaps the most polarizing player of his era, Strasburg was drafted first overall when the modern Internet was bursting with information, some of it dubious. Almost immediately, Strasburg came under fire for his “inverted W” pitching mechanics. When he did succumb to Tommy John surgery toward the end of his 2010 rookie season, his full-season comeback in 2012 turned into a never-ending takefest on Shutdown Protocol and best practices in TJ recovery. The Nationals did shut him down and did make the playoffs, though they were bounced in the first round without him. Thus began a star-crossed career filled with injuries and ultimately ended by them when thoracic outlet syndrome became too high a hill to climb. Yet wedged in the middle: Stephen Strasburg, 2019 World Series MVP, after an epic playoff run that earned him a $245 million contract.
Adam Wainwright
Career record: 200-128
WAR: 45.3
Notable: When Wainwright’s elbow barked during spring training in 2011, the worst fears were realized: He’d need Tommy John surgery, and the St. Louis Cardinals’ season looked as cooked as his UCL. But you can’t predict ball: The Cardinals would stage an absurd late-season rally and go on to win the World Series without Wainwright. Not that he was done: Waino returned in 2012, earned NL Cy Young runner-up honors in 2013 behind 19 wins and a major league-high 241 2/3 innings pitched and 12 of his 18 big league seasons after TJ. He’d win his 200TH career game at age 41.
Yu Darvish
Career record: 115-93
WAR: 33.2
Notable: A career in so many chapters, Darvish was well-accomplished in Japan before debuting with the Texas Rangers in 2012 and earning AL Cy Young runner-up honors in 2013. He was 3-for-3 on All-Star appearances before his elbow gave out in March 2015. While he never quite reached that dominance of his early Texas days, Darvish started 214 more games after his surgery, for the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs and Padres and racked up two more top 10 Cy Young finishes in the 2020s.
Tarik Skubal
Career record: 61-43
WAR: 21.2
Notable: Oh yeah, this guy! Good health and labor conditions willing, Skubal is expected to sign a contract in excess of at least $300 million this winter, and probably much more. You wonder what the Seattle University left-hander sitting on the operating table would think of that outcome. But Skubal recovered and grabbed enough of the Detroit Tigers’ attention to get picked in the ninth round. The rest is all his doing. But the bankroll can certainly give a hat tip to John and Jobe.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Thank you, Tommy John: MLB pitching careers saved by the groundbreaking surgery
