Interactive Career Trajectory & Season Scrubber
Hover or click bars to inspect specific seasons. Drag or use filters below.Post-Surgery Golden Era
Season Context & Career Significance
Finished 2nd in NL Cy Young voting with 20 wins and a 2.78 ERA just three years after his revolutionary ligament replacement, proving full recovery and elite durability.
Pre-Surgery vs. Post-Surgery Durability Comparison
Established himself as a premier groundball specialist for Cleveland, Chicago White Sox, and Dodgers before tearing his UCL on July 17, 1974 while holding a 13-3 record.
Won 40 more games post-surgery than pre-surgery, pitching 14 additional seasons until age 46, including back-to-back 20-win seasons with the NY Yankees.
The 1974 Breakthrough: Dr. Frank Jobe's UCL Reconstruction
On September 25, 1974, Dr. Frank Jobe replaced John's torn ulnar collateral ligament with a tendon harvested from his right forearm. Estimated with a 1-in-100 chance of return, John missed the 1975 season, returned in 1976, and pitched until 1989—giving his name to the most impactful surgical procedure in sports history.
Complete 26-Season Career Ledger
Verified career statistical dataset| Year | Age | Team | W | L | ERA | G | GS | IP | SO | BB | Phase |
|---|