{"id":1010371,"date":"2026-08-19T08:07:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:07:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1010371\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T08:07:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:07:52","slug":"reaction-to-the-death-of-tommy-john","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1010371\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaction to the death of Tommy John"},"content":{"rendered":"

Notable reaction to the death of Tommy John<\/a>, who won 288 games during a 26-year big league career and became the first pitcher to successfully return following groundbreaking elbow surgery that later was named after him:<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people remember how outstanding his career was, and not just being named for the injury that, obviously, we know very well now. I can see his windup, one of my favorite windups to imitate. A great career, and obviously a lasting legacy.\u201d \u2014 New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing that comes to mind is just how much of a trail blazer he was and what great perseverance he had, kind of venturing into the unknown with the surgery, and really writing the script for how to push through it and overcome it, and ultimately have success afterwards.\u201d \u2014 New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole, who had Tommy John surgery in 2025.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a great pitcher, he was a man of faith and just a wonderful man. He\u2019ll be missed. He should be in the Hall of Fame. I\u2019m going to continue to promote him for that. 288 wins.\u201d \u2014 former major league pitcher and New York Mets color commentator Keith Hernandez on SportsNet New York telecast.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 50 years his name is mentioned nearly everyday when people talk MLB. Tommy was a wonderful person who competed to the utmost and did what no player had ever done to save his career, in conjunction with the esteemed Dr. Frank Jobe. The HOF is missing Tommy John.\u201d \u2014 former Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti on X.<\/p>\n

\u2014-<\/p>\n

\u201cSaddened by the passing of my friend Tommy John, one of the greatest left-handed pitchers to ever play the game. Tommy was a good, humble, and peaceful man who left an incredible mark on baseball and on everyone who had the privilege of knowing him. He belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y.\u201d \u2014 Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, on X.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\u201cWe pause to remember the totality of his legacy \u2014 his competitiveness and skill, his penchant for conversation, his kind and gracious nature, and his stature as an athletic and medical pioneer.\u201d \u2014 New York Yankees statement.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Tommy John for saving countless pitchers baseball careers, including mine. No words can express gratitude over the risk you took to endure and create what you did. We all look down at our scars daily and are reminded of you. God Bless you and may you Rest In Peace.\u201d \u2014 Jeff Urlaub, former Athletics minor league pitcher on X.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

\u201cHis courage changed baseball, transformed sports medicine and gave generations of injured athletes hope. Few people have shaped my life and career more profoundly. Rest in peace, Tommy. The game will never forget you.\u201d \u2014 Dr. Chris Ahmad, head team physician for the New York Yankees and New York City Football Club, on X.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

See AP\u2019s full MLB coverage here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Notable reaction to the death of Tommy John, who won 288 games during a 26-year big league career…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1008324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[41],"tags":[2226,591,276,404502,6064,723,403692,46398,404503,114012,1266,1822,403695,401,405,403,1305,2228,12299,201907,62,40620,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-1010371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-aaron-boone","tag-baseball","tag-california","tag-chris-ahmad","tag-fl-state-wire","tag-florida","tag-frank-jobe","tag-gerrit-cole","tag-jeff-urlaub","tag-keith-hernandez","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-baseball","tag-ned-colletti","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-mets","tag-new-york-yankees","tag-notable-deaths","tag-roger-williams","tag-sports","tag-tommy-john","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117121155397512498","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1010371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1010371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1008324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1010371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1010371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1010371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}