Tommy John surgery

My top 11 list is taking a hit. Two of my top prospects are suffering from injuries. Doc Halladay and CC Sabathia are out of commission for another week or so, that means a few less career starts in order to reach the lofty 300 mark.

Injuries happen, that is part of baseball and has certainly affected the careers of many players, both pitchers and hitters. I look at Griffey Jr. and wonder how many HR's would he have hit if he had been healthy during his career.

One problem pitchers seem to have is arm problems that require surgery. A number of pitchers have had "Tommy John surgery". This surgery was named after a great left hander, a dominant left named Tommy John. His numbers were impressive.

John played in the majors for 25 years and played for Indians, White Sox, Dodgers, Yankees two times, Angels and A's. In 1974 John was again off to a great start and was sitting at 13-3 when he developed major arm problems. He missed the rest of the 74' season and all of the 75' as he recovered from the radical surgery that took a tendon from his right arm and had it placed in his left arm. That injury prevented John from being a 300 club member. Tommy John finished his career with 288 wins.

When John was injured he was certainly in the prime of his career, he was on schedule for a twenty win season. Things were not good, nor did the future look good. In fact, he thought that his career may have been over. Thanks to his Dr. he had the opportunity to get back to pitching and in 76', he won 10 games. Over the next 13 years he managed to win another 164 games.

Hopefully the pitching injuries will stay at a minimum. Thanks to great trainers and surgeons, many players get back on the field quicker.


Justin Verlander took another step towards winning his first 100 with a 3-2 win over the Brewers. He got the offensive help he needed from Brandon Inge who jacked a three run shot against another stud pitcher in Yovani Gallardo. Verlander picked up 8 k's in 7 2/3 innings for his 54th win.