By Associated Press - Thursday, April 24, 2014

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (AP) - Former major league pitcher Tommy John says it’s “unreal” that so many pitchers need elbow surgery 40 years after he was the first to undergo the procedure that now bears his name.

John tells the Watertown Daily Times (https://bit.ly/1pt1PEW ) that “it seems like guys are going down right and left” in the major leagues this season. Several pitchers are sidelined with elbow ligament injuries that require Tommy John surgery.

The left-handed John, who won 288 games playing for six teams over 26 seasons, moved to Watertown in northern New York last December.

He attended the April 7 memorial service held at Dodger Stadium for Dr. Frank Jobe, who died in March. In 1974, Jobe operated on John’s pitching arm, becoming the first to perform the elbow procedure that became known as Tommy John surgery. John pitched 15 more seasons.

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Information from: Watertown Daily Times, https://www.watertowndailytimes.com

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