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Thursday, July 11, 2002

By Rich Emert

In baseball, Tommy John's name has become synonymous with giving pitchers a second chance.

A left-hander who pitched in the majors for 26 seasons with six teams, he was the first to have the surgery that bears his name. A ligament in his left elbow was torn throwing a fastball in 1974. Dr. Frank Jobe repaired the injury by taking a tendon from John's right forearm and using it to replace the shredded ligament.

After missing the '75 season while rehabilitating his left arm, John returned to pitch 14 more major-league seasons. A four-time All-Star, he went 20-7 with a 2.79 ERA in '77 for the Dodgers and finished his career with a 288-231 record and a 3.34 ERA. He also holds the dubious distinction of committing three errors on one play in a game in '88. Last year, he was the director of community relations and a broadcaster for the Class AAA Charlotte (N.C.) Knights. This year John, 59, is working as the pitching coach for the Harrisburg Senators.

Q: How many people think you're the doctor who developed "Tommy John" surgery?

A: A lot. There are a lot of guys playing the game who think that, too. That kind of goes with the territory since a lot of players don't follow the history of the game. I know a guy who didn't know who Jackie Robinson was.

Q: Do you get a lot of players who have had the surgery calling you?

A: Not as many as you would think. I talked to John Smoltz after he had it and told him the recovery time is different for every one, but that it takes at least a year.

Q: Did you really tell Dr. Jobe to "make up something" before the surgery?

A: He told me if I didn't have it done I wasn't going to be able to pitch again. There was no downside or risk for me because of that. You've got to remember that back in 1974, there was no MRI or anything like that. He didn't know how bad it was until he got in there.

Q: Was there a point after the surgery when you knew you'd make it back?

A: We were playing in Pittsburgh in '75 just before the All-Star break, and I was throwing in the bullpen and our catcher said, "That ball had some pop on it." That's when I kind of knew things were going to work out.

Q: Did you have a rehabilitation plan?

A: They have guys today on pitch counts and everything. I would just go out and throw until my arm got tired, and I'd throw as hard as I could that day. Some days I'd throw 20 pitches, some days 60. But it was up to me how much I threw.

Q: Every year more and more pitchers are having the surgery. That's bad, right?

A: Dr. [James] Andrews and myself sit on the board for health and safety for USA Baseball, and there are kids 15 and 16 years old who are having it done. You can't hurt the ligament when you are that young unless it has been abused by a coach or parent who thinks their kid is the next Pedro Martinez or Curt Schilling.

Q: Any tips for young pitchers?

A: Yeah, have the scouts and everybody take the radar guns away. Young pitchers are trying to throw for the guns to impress scouts instead of worrying about getting guys out. [Harrisburg] played Bowie the other night and they used four pitchers. The first one threw 94 mph, the second 92 mph and the third 91 mph. We scored 10 runs, so what did throwing hard get them?

Q: Why do major-league pitchers have to be 6 feet 2 or taller?

A: The thinking is that if a guy is 6-6 the downward motion of his fastball -- because he throwing at a steeper angle because of his height -- makes him harder to hit. That still doesn't mean he can pitch. The first thing they teach pitchers in the minor leagues is an off-speed pitch. Why not go out and find guys who have the off-speed pitch and good control?

Q: You were a broadcaster in Charlotte. Why the move to pitching coach?

A: I was like the poor man's Steve Blass down there. Actually, I had been getting calls from friends who wondered if I was interested in being a pitching coach in the majors. I was, but even though I had coached high school and college ball, I hadn't coached in the majors and you sort of have to play your dues in baseball. That's why I took the job with Harrisburg, so I could get some experience.

Q: Has it been fun?

A: It has and we've got a good group of guys who are interested in learning. I tell them not to pitch for me, but to pitch for themselves.

Q: Do you believe in that lefty vs. lefty and righty vs. righty thing?

A: Managers do that so that they won't be second-guessed by fans and the media. If they bring in a right-hander to face a right-handed hitter, that's supposedly the smart move even if the left-handed pitcher they have out there is doing the job. I believe in going with the guy who is doing the job.

Play The Game by e-mailing Rich Emert at remert196@attbi.com.