Los Angeles Dodgers: Fifty greatest Dodgers of all-time (50-46)
By Jason Reed
47. LHP Tommy John (22.9 WAR)
Stats: 1198 IP, 87-42, 2.97 ERA, 649 K’s, 1x All-Star
Yes, the man behind the most infamous surgery in all of baseball is the 47th best Los Angeles Dodger to ever play. Tommy John was the first to receive ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, otherwise known today as Tommy John surgery. As for the details, I do understand all of the medical lingo, so you can read about it here.
Anyways, it is a shame that the biggest thing that John is known for is the infamous surgery that seemingly is required by one or more pitcher every single year. John was an outstanding pitcher, and although he only played for the Dodgers for six seasons, he goes down as an all-time great. In fact, although he ranks as the 22nd best pitcher to ever play.
As a Dodger, he ranks 47th, which is due to his short time with the franchise. Although short, John performed outstanding, being one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. His best season as a Dodger came in 1977 when he owned a 20-7 record and 2.78 ERA.
John thrived outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers as well. He was selected to four consecutive all-star games, one as a Dodger and two as a Yankee, with his first appearance coming in 1968 with the White Sox. John finished as high as second in Cy Young voting as a Dodger (1977), also finishing 12th in MVP voting.
Fun fact: When the surgery was going to be performed on John it was said to be a 1-100 chance of succeeding, now it succeeds around 90% of the time.