Tommy John surgery pioneer Dr. Frank Jobe dies,
Perez, D’backs agree to two-year contract; Royals drop Penny.
Dr. Frank Jobe, a pioneering orthopedic surgeon who was the first to perform an elbow procedure that became known as Tommy John surgery and saved the careers of countless major league pitchers, died Thursday. He was 88. Jobe died in Santa Monica, Calif., after being hospitalized recently with an undisclosed illness, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Jobe performed groundbreaking elbow surgery on John, a Dodgers pitcher who had a ruptured medial collateral ligament in his left elbow. The injury previously had no solution until Jobe removed a tendon from John’s forearm and repaired his elbow. John went on to pitch 14 years after the operation on Sept. 25, 1974, compiling 164 more victories without ever missing a start because of an elbow problem.
“Today I lost a GREAT friend,” John tweeted.
Last year, the initial surgery and the relationship between John and Jobe was the subject of an ESPN documentary.
“When he did come back, I thought maybe we could do it on somebody else,” Jobe told The Associated Press in 2010. “I waited two years to try it on somebody else, but we had no idea we could do it again.”
Jobe initially estimated John’s chances of returning to the majors at less than 5 percent. He later said 92 percent to 95 percent of patients return as good, if not better, than before the surgery.
The surgery has since become common practice for pitchers and players at every level of baseball, including New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, Washington star Stephen Strasburg, San Francisco’s Tim Hudson and Pittsburgh’s Francisco Liriano.
Some pitchers have signed multiyear contracts just months after they have the surgery in expectation of a high-level return.
Typically, full rehabilitation takes about a year for pitchers and about six months for position players. The procedure initially required four hours; now it takes about an hour.
“I had no idea it would do this,” Jobe told the AP. “It startles me even today that it has done that.”
Diamondbacks: Lefthander Oliver Perez and Arizona agreed to a twoyear, $4.25 million contract, a source said.
The 32-year-old was 3-3 with a 3.74 ERA last year with the Mariners.
Orioles: Baltimore pitcher Miguel Gonzalez left Friday’s game against the Phillies in the fifth inning after he was hit by Cameron Rupp’s line drive.
Gonzalez was hit in the left leg, but walked off the field under his own power. The Orioles said he sustained a bruise.
Royals: Pitcher Brad Penny was released following a poor start to spring training. The right-hander, 35, gave up four runs and eight hits in two innings.
Penny denied reports that he broke his left hand punching a dugout wall after his poor outing. He said he injured himself when he slammed his glove down.
Also, right-hander Luke Hochevar will have Tommy John surgery that will sideline him for the season.
Nationals: Righthander Doug Fister was scratched from his scheduled start because of inflammation in his elbow.
Padres: The team claimed outfielder Alex Castellanos off waivers from the Rangers.
Castellanos, 27, played 24 games with the Dodgers over the past two seasons, hitting a combined .171 with two home runs.
Mariners: Second baseman Robinson Cano missed his second straight game after having a root canal.
Friday’s stars: All-Star shortstop Troy Tulowitzki hit two long home runs for the Rockies to snap an 0-for-5 slump. ... The Indians’ Carlos Carrasco struck out six of the 12 Cubs he faced. ... Chris Heisey hit two home runs for the Reds.