Iconic Yankees pitcher Tommy John passes away at 83

Just over a week ago, Tommy John wasn't able to be at Yankee Stadium for Old Timers Day, but he made sure that his words were. The former Yankees left-hander sent a letter to the organization thanking the Steinbrenner family, his former teammates, and the fans, and perhaps most significantly, saying goodbye. Now, those words carry even more weight. Tommy John has died at the age of 83. His agent says John passed away at his home in Florida, surrounded by his wife and family. John's baseball story is of course one of the most unique in the history of the sport. He pitched for 26 Major League seasons, won 288 games, and was a four-time All-Star. He spent parts of eight seasons with the Yankees over two different stints, winning more than 20 games in each of his first two years in the Bronx, and finishing second in the American League in Cy Young voting in 1979. But his name became bigger than his numbers. In 1974, John tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his pitching elbow. Dr. Frank Jobe performed a then-experimental reconstruction of that ligament John missed in 1975's season, then came back and won another 164 Major League games, more than half of his career total. The procedure would eventually become known simply as Tommy John Surgery, and generations of pitchers have since undergone it. And that was something John himself reflected on in his final message to Yankees fans. He wrote, And then added that the surgery had gone on to save the careers of countless pitchers. But maybe the most powerful part of that letter came at the end. And then John finished his message to the fans saying simply, Baseball, however, will remember Tommy John as something more. A great pitcher, a Yankee, and a man whose name became forever connected to countless second chances on a baseball mound. Thanks for watching!