Presenting the Tommy John All-Stars

Tommy John surgery used to be risky and exotic, but it has become so common that the list of pitchers with elbows made of ligaments from their feet has become long and rather undistinguished when you consider it includes such pitchers as Tim Spooneybarger, Jesse Foppert and Columbia Blowfish manager Lee Gronkiewicz(notes).After seeing his once-promising career fizzle after going under the knife in 2003, Foppert ranks as one of the more notable casualties of Tommy John surgery. He's often cited as a cautionary tale whenever the procedure is mentioned. B.J. Ryan(notes), meanwhile, joined Foppert's company when he experienced a similar drop in velocity after his 2007 surgery and saw his career go south with it. Tommy John is not a cure-all for everyone. Still, Red Sox team doctor Michael Reinold claims the surgery's success rate is "close to 85-92 percent in elite pitchers" and there's no doubt that it can extend a pitcher's career for many more productive...