The New York Yankees sign pitcher Tommy John, a reentry draft free agent formerly with the Dodgers. John will be a valuable addition to the Yankees, winning 43 games in the next two seasons.
1978 – In the third annual free agent re-entry draft held at the the New York Plaza Hotel, Pete Rose, Tommy John and Darrell Evans are the biggest names among the eligible players.
On November 2, 1977, receiving 17 of the 24 first-place votes, Steve Carlton wins his second National League Cy Young Award over Tommy John. The Philadelphia Phillies’ ace posted a record of 23-10 with 198 strikeouts and a 2.64 ERA, helping the club to their second straight NL East title. Game ticket & learn…
In Game 4 of the NLCS played at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium, Dodger hurler Tommy John goes the distance and beats Steve Carlton and the Phillies, 4-1. The LA southpaw considers this pennant-clinching performance the best game he has ever pitched in the major leagues.
On September 25, 1974, Tommy John of the Los Angeles Dodgers undergoes history-making surgery on his left arm. In a revolutionary surgical operation, Dr. Frank Jobe repairs Tommy John’s damaged ulnar collateral ligament by replacing the elbow tendon of the pitching arm with a tendon from the right wrist. The procedure, now known as Tommy…
1971 – Major league teams engineer eight trades, involving a total of 30 players. In the biggest trades, P Doyle Alexander is sent by the Dodgers along with P Bob O’Brien, C Sergio Robles, and OF Royle Stillman to the Orioles, for OF Frank Robinson and P Pete Richert. After acquiring Robinson, the Dodgers send 1B Dick Allen to the White Sox for P Tommy John and IF Steve Huntz. The White Sox also send IF Rich McKinney to the Yankees in exchange for P Stan Bahnsen as the Yankees get IF Bernie Allen from the Rangers in a deal for two pitching prospects. Finally, 1B John Mayberry is sent by the Astros to the Royals in a four-player transaction.
After walking on a 3-2 count, which included pitches sailing over his head to the backstop and a ball being thrown behind him, Dick McAuliffe charges the mound and drives his knee into White Sox hurler Tommy John, causing the pitcher’s shoulder to separate. Tommy John (10-5, 1.98) will be lost for the rest of the season, and the Tigers’ shortstop is suspended for five games and fined $250 by AL president Joe Cronin as a result of the bench-clearing incident.
The Tigers move into a first-place tie with the Twins, as Eddie Mathews and Jim Northrup hit home runs, and Mickey Lolich beats Tommy John, 4 – 1, at Chicago.
1966 – The California Angels play their first game at Anaheim Stadium. Rick Reichardt of the Angels hits the first home run in the new ballpark, but California loses the game, 3 – 1, to the Chicago White Sox.
On January 20, 1965, the Cleveland Indians re-acquire popular slugger Rocky Colavito from the Chicago White Sox in a three-way deal involving the Kansas City Athletics. In the deal, the White Sox send a player to be named later (pitcher Fred Talbot) and outfielders Jim Landis and Mike Hershberger to Kansas City in exchange for…
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