Tommy John Surgery: a career saving procedure
A medical practice known as Ulnar Collateral Ligament (UCL) reconstruction is better known as the Tommy John surgery. In the surgical procedure, a tendon replaces a ligament in the medial elbow. It is common practice for athletes to get this surgery in different
sports, especially in baseball.
It is named the Tommy John surgery after Los Angeles Dodgers’ pitcher Tommy John who was the first professional athlete to get the surgery done successfully in 1974.
After John went through with the radical new procedure, his pitching capabilities returned to how good they used to be. The surgery allowed him to pitch for almost another decade and a half. There have been numerous players who underwent the surgery and
some of them are absolute success stories as follows.
John Smoltz of the St. Louis Cardinals had the surgical procedure performed in 2001 and after that converted to a reliever. After the surgery, he tacked on another 154 saves to his already impressive career. Smoltz decided to retire in 2009.
Billy Wagner of the Atlanta Braves did not play too much in 2009 and his return was met with him being traded to the Boston Red Sox. Later he joined the Atlanta Braves for his final season in 2010. The surgery helped him notch his 400th career
save against the Detroit Tigers.
Brian Wilson underwent the procedure in 2003, the same year he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants. The surgery improved his performance and reliability as a player. He joined the Major League in 2006 and now is a permanent spot-holder as the Giants’
closer.
Arthur Rhodes had his surgery in 2007, but could not bounce back very quickly. He struggled around for a bit before he finally made it to last season. The Cincinnati Reds surprised everyone with their impressive performance in 2010 and he was a big contributing
factor to that. Rhodes managed a record tying performance of 33 consecutive scoreless appearances.
Joakim Soria underwent the procedure before his career in Major League Baseball (MLB) even began. Despite playing for a below-average team, the Kansas City Royals, he has carved a name for himself as an elite reliever.
Tim Hudson had the surgery in late 2008, but did not return till after the All Star break of 2009. Even after the gap he managed to impress the Atlanta Braves enough to give him a three-year extension. Hudson managed to make it to the All Star game as well
last season.
Ryan Dempster of the Chicago Cubs, had a quick recovery and made it back to the field within a year of having the operation in 2003. He has proved himself to be a very effective reliever and a serviceable starter since then.
Allan James Burnett was not part of the Florida Marlins team that won the World Series Championship in 2003. He left after a mere four starts to undergo the procedure. Since then he has had several impressive seasons and won the World Series title as a New
York Yankee in 2009.
St. Louis Cardinals’ Chris Carpenter missed almost 500 days after going through with the procedure in 2007 but soon enough, he was back. With quite some improvement which was evident when he won the 2009 Comeback Player upon his arrival back to the field.
He had a tremendous year as he helped the Cardinals win the 2011 World Series.
It seems that the surgery has become a career saver for many MLB pitchers. Modern sports medicine has given these pitchers a new lease on throwing.
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