LOS ANGELES — Tommy John, who won 288 games on the mound during a 26-year MLB career and became the first pitcher to successfully return after groundbreaking elbow surgery that later was named after him, has died. He was 83.
John died Saturday night at his home in Bradenton, Florida, agent Mike Maguire said Sunday. The Indiana native had been in hospice care.
On Aug. 8, the New York Yankees released a social media post in which John wrote that he wanted to say goodbye to everyone, including friends and fans who followed him throughout his career, saying: “I will never forget you.” That farewell note came the same day the team was holding its Old-Timers Day reunion celebration in the Bronx.
The Yankees on Sunday called John “a bedrock of our rotation during his time in pinstripes and a longtime favorite of Yankees fans.”
John was a four-time MLB All-Star with a record of 288-231 and a 3.34 ERA during a career that stretched from 1963 to 1989. In addition to the Yankees, he pitched for the California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers and Oakland Athletics.