For new and casual baseball fans out there, Tommy John is the name of a revolutionary surgical procedure many pitchers have today. It was a ground-breaking operation performed on September 25, 1974, by the team surgeon of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Dr. Frank Jobe.

However, many others will remember the legendary southpaw pitcher for whom the procedure was named. John tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow and it was replaced by a new ligament harvested from a tendon in his right wrist.

And despite his longevity (he pitched 26 years, second only to the great Nolan Ryan), and his impressive statistics (which I have listed below) he is not in the Hall of Fame. John has been in the news recently because he declined an invitation to the Yankees’ annual Old Timer’s Game, due to declining health. Now 83-years old and in hospice care, he penned a letter to his fans thanking them for all the memories and joy they have brought him.

So on this edition of The Cooperstown Case, it’s time we take a look at one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball history… the legendary Tommy John.

First, a statistical overview:

Tommy John Career Overview

• Career: Indians (1963-64), White Sox (1965-71), Dodgers (1972-78), Yankees (1979-82), Angels (1982-85), Athletics (1985), Yankees (1986-89)
• Career: 288-231 (.555), 3.34 ERA
• Career: 62.1 WAR (Wins Above Replacement), 111 ERA+
• Career: 4,710.1 IP is 14th most since 1901
• 288 wins and 4,710.1 IP are 2nd most for any pitcher since 1901 who is not in the Hall of Fame (Roger Clemens)
• Won 20 or more games three times
• 4-time All-Star
• Two-time runner-up in Cy Young Award voting
• 6-3, 2.65 ERA in 14 post-season appearances

John retired with 288 career victories, 12 short of the 300 win club.. Despite that, only six pitchers — Steve Carlton, Don Sutton, Phil Niekro, Tom Seaver, Gaylord Perry and Ryan — won more games than John during the same span of his career (1963-89),

All of them are in the Hall of Fame.

His longevity, especially with a catastrophic injury, also adds to the resume… especially when you realize he played more seasons AFTER the injury than before the injury. On top of that, of his 288 career victories, 164 came after Dr. Frank Jobe performed the historic 1974 elbow ligament replacement surgery on him. John’s longevity helped him compile 79.6 career WAR, per FanGraphs. It places him in the top 20 among pitchers.

Also, for reference purposes, let’s quickly compare Tommy John’s case with fellow legendary southpaw Jim Kaat. Kaat’s line was 283-237 and an ERA of 3.47 over 25 seasons. Even with Kaat’s 16 Gold Gloves, his WAR (50.5) is quite a bit lower than John’s. Kaat had four fewer wins than John, more losses, and a higher ERA. Kaat is in the Hall of Fame (also deservedly so).

However, with every case to be made, there are counter reasons. In his quarter-century plus career, John never led his league in wins, ERA, strikeouts or innings pitched, and he was voted to the All-Star Game just four times.

The argument can also be made that his achievements are more so based on longevity over dominance. He hardly was at the top of the leaderboards in pitching statistics per year.

Despite that, it was his reliability, leadership, and personality that endeared him to teammates and fans alike.

There are many players in the Hall of Fame who do not have eye popping statistics, and yet they are still fondly remembered and are immortalized in Baseball history. And that’s okay. Contrary to belief, not every Hall of Famer in sports needs to be the best at what they did. It’s all about the mark that they left.

And I think it’s safe to say, over 50 years after his revolutionary procedure, his impact is still felt on the field… and off of it.