Sports Story of the Week
In Honor of Tommy John
I woke up yesterday to the news that Tommy John died at the age of 83. He was a great baseball player, a brave pioneer, and a good human.
In June of 2006, my Dad and I attended the Rickwood Classic in Birmingham, Alabama. I was in the middle of applying for my first real big kid athletic training jobs and spending some time with him in Alabama while the whole process played out. Tommy John happened to be there and threw out the first pitch- they announced that he would be staying to sign autographs. As an athletic trainer and baseball fan I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to get an autograph from him and talk to the legend.
In 1974, at the age of 31 while playing for the LA Dodgers, Tommy John underwent the first UCL construction by Dr. Frank Jobe. The UCL is a ligament on the inside of your elbow that is vital for pitching. That reconstruction allowed him to continue playing. Fast forward and as of 2016 the American Medical Association estimates that over 30% of Major League Pitchers have undergone that surgery. The surgery now informally called, “Tommy John”.
So now back to 2006 that day in historic Rickwood Field, I walked down to the room that held Tommy John, got in line and said, “I am an athletic trainer and I am so interested in your surgery. Can I get a picture with you and your scar?” He was so kind, obliged and said, “Sit down Here and Lets Chat” and for the next 45 minutes, I sat while he signed autographs. So long in fact that I can still see my Dad’s worried face when he popped his head in the door and knew his adult daughter was probably fine, but just needed to check on where she was.
I asked Tommy questions about the surgery, why he decided to have it, what his rehab was like and just anything that I could think of, including where we were with it then, a little over 30 years later past that first surgery.
I learned a lot. The decision wasn’t that hard for him. He knew he couldn’t pitch. He trusted Jobe and knew that this was his chance, even if a small one, to continue with his career. I learned that there was no formal rehab plan. Of course everyone on his team knew the basics, but they didn’t have a throwing progression like they do now. So he started with Range of Motion, Got strength, knew the bone was healed and then it was time to throw.
He started with a tennis ball against his garage. Light ball, started close, moved further away. Then it was time for the heavier baseball. So he enlisted the help of his wife. He knew that he wouldn’t throw hard if he was throwing to her. Then he progressed to long toss. Flat ground pitching, then from the mound. Just keeping on. Trial. Error. Doing the best he could by consulting the experts and then doing what he felt his body could handle.
He told stories of coming back, the frustration, the fear, the uncertainty in how long he had, with which pitch might again be his last. That pitch was pretty far out. He pitched another 14 seasons after his return, finally retiring in 1989.
As an athletic trainer, this is a core memory for me, sitting with a legend, a pioneer, hearing first hand his experience. Something that had become so common by 2006 directly from the mouth of the one that had the courage to do it first. His decision to go “under the knife” changed the trajectory of baseball. Future careers that would never have happened. I can’t imagine the game today without this surgery and recovery.
But most of all, its the memory of how kind he was, how open he was about his experience, how he genuinely smiled at every person that walked up to get his autograph, see his scar, shake his hand.
He was a legend for his bravery, his contributions to baseball, and he was a great human to this young athletic trainer who will remember it forever.
3 Lessons from Tommy John
1. Innovation takes Risk and Trust.
True innovation means you might fail. Someone has to be the first. And that can’t be easy. As the famous quote “Can you imagine who was brave enough to eat the first oyster?” Tommy knew this was a risk, but he also knew that someone had to be the first. He trusted Dr. Jobe, trusted his team, and was brave enough to give it a shot. Dr Jobe told Tommy that there was less than a 5% chance he would pitch again. But, five was better than zero. We need to have a bit of that mentality in business too, there is NO innovation without risk, and there is little innovation without trust. In true innovation, there is always a combination of both.
2. He trusted the experts, trusted his body, and built in boundaries.
Tommy had a team that knew the fundamentals of rehab. But that exact rehab had never been done. He consulted with the surgeon, with physical therapists, with athletic trainers, but knew that without building in boundaries, he wouldn’t be able to hold back to the slow entry into throwing and pitching so he built them in himself. We have to do that as leaders. Consult the experts, trust your instinct and your experience, and then build in benchmarks and boundaries that save you from being overconfident.
3. When you are a trailblazer, don’t forget your humanity.
Tommy John could have gone many ways. He chose openness, he chose to lift as he rises. If you talked to Dr. Jobe, he gave all his credit to his patients. When you talked to Tommy John, he gave all the credit to Dr. Jobe. In the end they each had care and concern for each other. A willingness to get it right rather than be right. And then the humanity to pass it on. He could have signed something, taken my picture and sent me on my way. But he told stories, he shared the vulnerabilities, the realities, and the humor. We have to keep that humanity when we have success in life and business. To remember that it is always bigger than one person, and that we can always share and spread credit.
