Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943 in Terre Haute, Indiana) is a
former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball whose 288 career
victories rank as the 6th highest total among lefthanders in major league
history. He is also known for the revolutionary surgery, now named after him,
which was performed on a damaged ligament in his pitching arm.
前大聯盟左投手Thomas Edward John Jr.(1943年5月22日出生於印第安那州的堤爾荷特)
生涯一共獲得288勝，排名大聯盟史上左投手第6多。除此之外，他也因為更換投球手臂的
受損韌帶這種革命性的手術而聞名，這種手術現在以他的名字命名。
Playing career
An outstanding basketball player at Gerstmeyer High School in Terre Haute,
where he held the city single game scoring record, Tommy John was originally
signed by the Cleveland Indians, getting his major league start in 1963. Of
his 26-year major league career, he is best remembered for his seasons with
the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1970s. He made appearances in the All-Star
Game in 1968, 1978, 1979, and 1980. He played in all three Yankees vs.
Dodgers World Series of his era (1977, 1978 and 1981), but was on the losing
end of all three, having switched over to the Yankees by the time the Dodgers
took the Series in '81. John never played on a major league championship team.
Tommy John曾經是堤爾荷特的Gerstmeyer高中的出色籃球選手，並保有堤爾荷特單場對多
得分紀錄。Tommy John起初是被印地安人所簽下，並於1963年開始了大聯盟生涯。26年的
職業生涯中最令人記憶深刻的就是1970年代效力道奇隊的時期。他在 1968，1978，1979
，1980年皆入選明星賽。Tommy John參與了三次洋基與道奇的世界大賽(1977，1978與
1981)，但是三次皆與冠軍無緣。在Tommy John從道奇隊轉至洋基隊後，道奇隊卻於1981
年世界大賽中擊敗洋基隊獲得世界大賽冠軍。Tommy John生涯從未獲得世界大賽冠軍戒指
。
In the middle of the 1974 season, John was cruising along with a 13-3 record
as the Dodgers were in route to their first National League pennant in eight
years, before he permanently damaged the ulnar collateral ligament in his
pitching arm, leading to a revolutionary surgical operation. This operation,
now known as Tommy John surgery, replaced the ligament in the elbow of his
pitching arm with a tendon from his right forearm. The surgery was performed
by Dr. Frank Jobe on September 25, 1974, and although it seemed unlikely he
would ever be able to pitch again, he spent the entire 1975 season in
recovery and returned to the Dodgers in 1976. His 10-10 record that year was
considered "miraculous" but John went on to pitch until 1989, winning 164
games after his surgery—one fewer game than all-time great Sandy Koufax won
in his entire career. How many games John would have won had he been healthy
in 1974 and 1975 is speculative but it is likely he easily would have
surpassed 300. After Phil Niekro's retirement, John spent 1988 and 1989 as
the oldest player in the major leagues. Today, many pitchers have Tommy John
surgery during their careers.
1974 年球季中段，在Tommy John傷了投球手臂尺骨附屬韌帶之前，他以13勝3敗的成績帶
領道奇隊邁向近8年來的第一個國聯冠軍。他接受了現今稱為Tommy John韌帶重建的手術
，以右前臂的韌帶替換投球手臂的手肘韌帶。手術於1974年9月25日由Frank Jobe醫生執
刀，雖然大家都認為Tommy John將無法在上場投球了，但是Tommy John花了1975年整個球
季進行復健並且於1976年回到道奇隊陣中。當年他投出的10勝10敗成績被認為是奇蹟，
Tommy John又繼續投球直到1989年。手術後Tommy John獲得了164勝，只比偉大的棒球明
星Sandy Koufax生涯的勝場數少一場而已。一般認為假如Tommy John在1974年與1975年沒
有因傷缺賽，他的勝場數應該能輕易的突破300場。在Phil Niekro退休後，Tommy John於
1988年與1989年成為了聯盟中最老的球員。現今許多大聯盟投手生涯中都曾接受過Tommy
John手術。
Still, he decided it was time to retire in 1989, when Mark McGwire got two
hits off him. McGwire's father was TJ's dentist. John said, "When your
dentist's kid starts hitting you, it's time to retire!"
1989年球季當Mark McGwire從Tommy John手中打出兩支安打後，他決定要退休了。
McGwire的父親是Tommy John的牙醫。他說:"當你的牙醫的兒子開始將你的球打成安打時
，就是該退休的時候了。"
Managerial career
On Dec. 17, 2006, John was named manager of the Bridgeport Bluefish in the
Atlantic League, an independent minor league in the Northeast.
2006年12月17日，Tommy John被任命為大西洋聯盟橋港藍魚的經理，這支球隊隸屬於美國
東北部的獨立聯盟。
Personal life
Tommy married the former Sally Simmons on July 13, 1970. They are parents of
four children (Tamara,Tommy III,Travis ,and Taylor).
Tommy John於1970年7月3日與前妻Sally Simmons結婚，育有四名子女(Tamara，Tommy
III，Travis 與 Taylor)。
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_John