Dr. Frank Jobe transplanted an elbow ligament in Tommy John’s throwing arm in 1974. John is seen pitching for the Angels in 1984. He retired in 1989, with more than half of his wins coming after the surgery. (Ronald C. Modra / Sports Imagery, Getty Images)
Dr. Frank Jobe, the pioneering orthopedic surgeon who saved the baseball careers of hundreds of pitchers, beginning with the Dodgers’ Tommy John in 1974, has died. He was 88.