In 1974, a creative surgical procedure saved the career of L.A. Dodgers pitcher Tommy John after he tore his UCL. Today, an astonishing 35% of active MLB pitchers have had "Tommy John surgery ...

Tommy John pitched in the big leagues from 1963 to 1989 and won 288 games. Only 25 MLB pitchers have won more. But check out his 27 years of statistics, and you'll see one year is blank: 1975 ...

Tommy John surgery is MLB's necessary evil 50 years later: 'We created this mess' A groundbreaking procedure changed baseball 50 years ago. It unintentionally opened the door for an MLB epidemic.