A great video and article about Dr. Frank Jobe and the pitcher Tommy John.
Dr Frank Jobe died on Thursday, and this is a great piece talking about his impact on the game and the legacy he's left behind. Any thoughts? Comments? Insights? New information learned? Not looking for monster comments. Just respond to the video and article.
I had never even heard about the man behind the Tommy John Surgery. I had only heard of Tommy John. It's such a shock to learn about how many lives and careers that Dr. Frank Jobe positively affected through his revolutionary surgery. He had changed the face of baseball forever. Who knows how baseball today would look like and how many pitchers would have had to end their career early had he not discovered a cure for this common elbow injury. It was said that over 500 pitchers since 1974 had gone under Tommy John Surgery and successfully returned back to the game to pitch. This article/video demonstrates that there are many important people that impact that game of baseball that may not necessarily be the players. The fact that Dr. Frank Jobe is relatively unknown to the world is also a shame because he hadn't really received formal recognition for his exceptional work until he was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame. Dr. Frank Jobe is a legend to the medical world, and the game of baseball, and it is saddening that he passed away.
ReplyDeleteGreat start to this piece, Ben. I too had no idea that Tommy John was the pitcher. I thought that was some medical short hand for the surgery.
ReplyDeleteWhat was interesting to me about this article and video was that the surgery was so revolutionary when it was first performed on Tommy John. It’s not often that doctors perform surgeries today when they have absolutely no idea what will happen in the end. Dr. Frank Jobe is quoted in the video saying he was watching to see if Tommy John was going to fall apart, and he was watching to see if the surgery he performed had held. Today, medicine is all about certainty that a procedure will work and complications happen less and less often as medicine progresses. Most doctors might not have performed the surgery on Tommy John because there was no guarantee that it could even do anything for him. If he hadn’t been a major league player they probably wouldn’t have even suggested it. That’s another thing I think is interesting about this article. If it didn’t mean the end of Tommy John’s career as a sports hero, the surgery probably wouldn’t have been created until later or even at all, and the history of baseball would look very different.
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ReplyDeleteBefore I read this article, I had never thought much about the history of the Tommy John operation. I knew a bit about the injury from following Brian Wilson’s recovery in 2012, but never went as far as learning about its impact on pitchers across the board. Now I realize that Dr. Frank Jobe’s revolutionized the way these players are able to heal from torn ligament injuries in their elbows. Currently, one-third of active pitchers have undergone the Tommy John surgery. Tommy John himself said that Frank Jobe “medically changed the face of baseball” and that the doctor deserves a place in the Hall of Fame. After hearing how humble Dr. Jobe is about his success, I completely agree. At first I was disappointed that he was not credited in the name of the operation, but John and Jobe seem to have come to an agreement that suits each of them well. Tommy John enjoys having a more publicly recognized legacy and Dr. Jobe is happy to be the successful man behind the scenes. Both men should be credited for taking a great risk in 1974 and saving the careers of hundreds of pitchers in the major leagues.
ReplyDeleteDr Frank Jobe died on Thursday, and this is a great piece talking about his impact on the game and the legacy he's left behind. Any thoughts? Comments? Insights? New information learned? Not looking for monster comments. Just respond to the video and article.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting article for me to read because beforehand I hadn't realized that the name Tommy John was from a player and not from a doctor or a certain part of the elbow/arm. This is a spectacular story about an amazing comeback for a man and an opened window for all the other pitchers out there that injure their arm. 500 pitchers in the past 3 decades is a significant number and they all have Dr. Frank Jobe to thank. It is really special that Dr. Frank Jobe was elected into the Hall of Fame without ever really doing anything on the baseball field, although he obviously had a huge impact with the groundbreaking Tommy John Surgery. It is really unfortunate that Tommy John got all the recognition for the surgery where it was really all Dr. Frank Jobe. However, both will go down in History together as two great people that will impact baseball forever.I am not sure if they have done this yet, but at the end of the video baseball players were thanking Dr. Frank Jobe and what I believe would be really neat is if everyone that has had Tommy John Surgery be compiled into a video thanking Dr. Frank Jobe.
Sandy Schenker
ReplyDeleteI really liked and found this piece interesting for various reasons. First, I had always assumed that Tommy John was the surgeon who had invented the surgery instead of the first player who received it. I also really liked this article because people like Dr. Frank Jobe allow baseball and other sports to function as they are today, yet they get so little credit or fame. Today surgery is expected to revive many players careers, and it is crazy to think about if surgeries such as Tommy John Surgery or surgery to fix torn ACL's had never been invented, and these injuries ended peoples careers as they had before modern medicine had found a way to fix it.
Noah
ReplyDeleteI think Dr. Jobe did a great service to major league baseball when he invented this surgery. It has saved the careers and livelyhoods of countless players whose whole life revolves around the health of their arms. Dealing with my own arm troubles this past here has made me appreciate the mental toll it must take on major league pitchers to not be able to pitch because of arm troubles. In an era where the science of steroids has taken a great toll on baseball as a game and an institution I feel like the science behind arm health and strength is one way that baseball can be continually improved.
Paul
ReplyDeleteThe ramifications of Tommy John surgery are well displayed in the video/article as it the popularity, or rather desperation, for the surgery is so common. I think the most interesting parallel I found is about famous sports doctors. The late Dr. Jobe was his generation's Dr. James Andrews, who nowadays travels all over the country to perform various surgeries on the highest profile athletes across every sport. And to each respective doctor's credit, they have made the game more sustainable as the athletes themselves become too explosive to be truly sustainable. For example basketball players like derrick rose, or football players like adrian peterson. Successful and innovative operations enable the game to be as explosive and entertaining as it is today, but should we be thankful of that?
Dr. Jobe’s impact on the game is greater than many of the players and coaches who have played in the MLB. It’s awesome how a person that is not a coach, player or manager can impact the game in such a way as Jobe. This article has caused me to think about the many players who never would’ve been able to achieve their dreams without the help of Jobe’s genius. Without his surgery many would have had to give up on their dreams.
ReplyDeleteSports in general are incredibly dependent on medical evolution. Without surgeries like Tommy Johns baseball as well as other sports would not be where they are today. The level that professional athletes are at now has a lot to do with the evolution in the medical world. Without this medical evolution the bodies of these athletes would not be able to withstand the physical pressure they are putting themselves through. However surgeries like Tommy Johns allow athletes to push the limits and reach new levels that players have never reached before. Thus, not only has Jobe helped many players succeed in reaching their goals he has also helped evolve the game.
-Luc
After reading the article and watching the video the main thing I noticed was the effect a person who doesn't play baseball and isn't involved in baseball operations can play such a big part in changing the game. He was honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame even though he didn't play or manage in the Major Leagues which proves the profound effect he had on the game today. Rarely do surgeons ever get appreciated to this extent like Dr. Jobe did and people realized that; this is why people like Stan Conte and Scott Boras are looking for more than just being honored by the Hall of Fame but an induction. Perhaps Dr. Jobe's innovative ideas can be a model for current surgeons in order to help athletes come back from injury quicker and better than before.
ReplyDeleteIt is extremely remarkable to me that 1/3rd of the pitchers in the majors have all had the same kind of surgery. That effect of what he came up with is so tangible in this essence. It is also interesting to me in what surgeries for players presents for baseball's future. Comparing today's game to that of the early 20th century, we see huge improvements in speed and strength. Perhaps a similar deficit in gameplay will occur when comparing baseball in the future to baseball now with the added abilities that surgery may give the players. Who knows what surgeries like this may offer to the game!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed learning about the man who saved the career of thousands of baseball players, whether on the professional or recreational level. The relationship that Tommy John and Dr.Jobe had was very touching. I can relate to the gratitude that Tommy felt for Jobe's services,because I was in a similar situation after I fractured my patella and had to undergo surgery so i could continue playing basketball. What Dr.Jobe did for the game of baseball is truly amazing and he will never be forgotten, especially by the many athletes who were able to continue living out their dreams and playing the game they love.
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the video and reading the article, I think what Dr. Frank Jobe did for the game is remarkable. It is quite something that Tommy John was able to continue his career with the Dodgers for years after his surgery and compiled 164 more wins. To me, I agree that Dr. Frank Jobe has pioneered the game of baseball and deserves to be placed in the same category with players such as Jackie Robinson who also took a risk that changed the game of baseball forever. Dr. Frank Jobe is a hero in baseball even though he did not play and because of this, I definitely think he should be elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
ReplyDeleteUntil now, the name "Tommy John" was just a random name for a medical procedure, and I didn't even know what the procedure was for. To me, this was one of those feel good stories. I just think it is amazing how from a little luck and experimentation, Dr. Jobe came up with a career saving surgery. Don't get me wrong, Dr. Jobe obviously used his intelligence about the human body to have some sort of idea about what he was doing but it was all a guess. I am also pleased to find out that rather than just having a Hall of Fame for the players that hit home runs and strike out a lot of players, there is a Hall of Fame for the people that have helped the players become successful in any type of way. And I am glad to see that the MLB acknowledged Dr. Frank Jobe's amazing work to revolutionize baseball.
ReplyDeleteThis piece was very interesting because before it, I did not know who Tommy John was or that there was a surgery named after him. I know little of the world of medicine but I find this surgery to be so impressive because of its level of success. It was not just a temporary fix to give players a few more years, it allowed men like Tommy John to continue playing, with incredible success, for well over a decade. I also am amazed by how common it is. 124 active pitchers have had the surgery, that is astounding. In other sports and even in baseball you always hear about players struck by injury, but here you have over a hundred pitchers being cured of a career ending injury. A surgery and a year of rehab and then a player is set to play for as long as the rest of their body holds out. It just shows the possibilities of medicine and makes me wonder how much longer until procedures are created that can wipe out all sorts of career ending injuries, extending the careers of athletes in all sports.
ReplyDeleteI think that this article was extremely interesting since I did not know anything about the surgery or about Frank Jobe before. Frank Jobe has had a large impact on the game of baseball and has had what feels to me to be little recognition for his efforts. Without him, the game would be completely different. Pitchers would have shorter careers, and would definitely have a small amount of time playing in the major leagues depending on how long they played in the minor leagues. Without Jobe pitchers lives would be completely different and they should be forever grateful for the gift that he gave them. Baseball has truly lost one of the greats and it's sad to see such a legend pass.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I really liked this article and video as well because I have always heard of the famous Tommy John operation and new what it consisted of yet never new the real history behind it. I really like how this is yet another example of how people who can't play major league ball (or retired players) can still play a major role in the game they love. I could be in the form of Managing a team or taking a job behind a desk for a team's organization, or pioneering a surgery that forever impacted the sport of baseball. Jobe took his surgical knowledge and applied it to baseball, saving the careers of hundreds of pitchers and teams, and I don't doubt that this specific operation has also helped with other athletes in similar situations as well. Seeing all the people around baseball, not just the players, that go into putting on just one game astounds me, and it one of the things that I love the most about the game.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this article and video. I have always heard of the saying Tommy John surgery, but never actually knew what it was. This video not only showed me what the procedure was for the surgery but also the doctor who created it. I also agree that this surgery should have been called Frank Jobe surgery. By watching this article, I learned how important and how life changing the surgery actually was. I always seem to forget that now we live in a time where medicine and treatment is much more advanced than medicines 50 years ago. When you hear of a pitcher now receiving Tommy John surgery it doesn't seem like a big deal. However, this video showed me that it was. This surgery was a massive break through for baseball and its players and without it, many big names in baseball may have never become big names. I think that more and more people should realize how influential medicine and advanced treatment can have on sports athletes because it is often a big part of the sport that is overlooked.
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ReplyDeleteI think this article really reinforces the idea of the hero. Throughout this course we have redefined the idea of the hero in many ways, and I think this story does that once again. Dr. Frank Jobe is a hero in the sense that he changed the course of medicine as well as baseball, but it is not his name that is remembered, and many people do not remember his contributions to society. This demonstrates that the hero is not always the man who is the most famous or remembered for their greatness. Sometimes the hero slips by almost unnoticed and that does not lessen any of their accomplishments or their heroism.
-Grace