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4w ago

Tommy John Delivers Farewell as Yankees Say He Is Battling Health Issues

Reported hospice care coupled with a goodbye letter indicates he is confronting serious health challenges at home in Bradenton.

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Former New York Yankee pitcher Tommy John answers questions on the panel at The 2025 J. Babe Stearn Thurman Munson Catcher's Scholarship Dinner at Double Tree Canton. July 10, 2025. Julie Vennitti Botos / Canton Repository / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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An image collage containing 2 images, Image 1 shows Tommy John of the New York Yankees pitches in a Major League Baseball game against the Oakland Athletics played on May 18, 1989 at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum in Oakland, California. Tommy John was 46 years old at the time. , Image 2 shows Tommy John #25 of the New York Yankees pitches during a Major League Baseball game circa 1980

Overview

  • The New York Yankees posted a letter on Saturday explaining that 83-year-old Tommy John would not attend the team's 78th Old Timers’ Day and offering a final goodbye to fans and teammates.
  • In the letter John thanked the Yankees and the Steinbrenner family for the chance to say farewell and specifically praised Dr. Frank Jobe for the 1974 elbow surgery that “saved my arm.”
  • The Yankees’ post said John is battling health issues from his home in Bradenton, Florida, and USA Today reporter Bob Nightengale later reported that John is in hospice care, a detail the team did not directly confirm.
  • John’s note and his absence follow a string of recent health crises, including a near‑fatal COVID-19 episode with blood clots in 2022 and a 2024 bladder cancer diagnosis.
  • John’s 26-year major‑league career and his role as the first patient to return after the UCL reconstruction now known as “Tommy John surgery” leave a lasting medical and sporting legacy for pitchers and fans.