Former pitching great Tommy John hospitalized with COVID-19

Tommy John has been battling COVID-19 for at least three weeks.

The 77-year-old former pitching great remains hospitalized near his home in Indio, California. He said he started to feel ill following a trip to Nashville before he was hospitalized on Dec. 13.

John said he has had a bout of pneumonia and did receive oxygen, but is not presently on oxygen. He said the biggest side effect at the moment is he has no strength in his legs. As far as some of the other symptoms associated with COVID-19, such as loss of taste or smell, John said he didn’t experience those.

“I feel good. The only thing right now is trying to arrange for someone to do physical therapy from my home,” he said.

John pitched for six teams over a 26-year career from 1963-89. He is widely known for undergoing the groundbreaking ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery on his left elbow in 1974 that bears his name. He went on to win 20 games three times, once with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1977 and twice with the New York Yankees (1979-80).

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This version of the story deletes an incorrect reference to a published report about John’s views on the coronavirus. The published report did not say John was a COVID denier.

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