Old-Timers’ Day in The Bronx took on an unexpected somber tone when Tommy John released a statement through the Yankees in which he said “goodbye to everyone” as he battles health issues. 

“I want to thank the Yankees organization [and] the Steinbrenner family for giving me this opportunity to say goodbye to everyone, along with all the friends [and] fans who followed me throughout my 26-year career.” 

The former Yankee — best known for being the first to undergo the elbow surgery that now bears his name — was remembered fondly by his former teammates Saturday at the Stadium. 

“He had almost 300 wins, on top of everything else he did,’’ Ron Guidry said. “It was great having him on the team. He was so knowledgeable. When we were together, we were pretty much 1-2 on the staff and having him around gave me great comfort. He could talk and it was nice to have him around because he would answer any question you had and he did so much in the game.” 

John had been an All-Star with the White Sox and was a standout with the Dodgers by the time he injured his UCL in 1974. 

At the time, that was seen as a likely career-ending injury, but Dodgers team physician Dr. Frank Jobe performed the procedure on John, then 31, in which the lefty’s elbow ligament was replaced. 

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. Getty Images

John missed the entire 1975 season, but returned a year later and pitched 14 seasons with the reconstructed elbow. 

In his statement, John also credited Jobe, who “saved my arm [and] made it possible for me to continue pitching. That surgery has gone on to save the careers of countless pitchers, including many of the very best in the game today.” 

Of John’s 288 career victories — the highest total of anyone not in the Hall of Fame aside from scandal-scarred Roger Clemens — 164 came after his surgery. 

He signed with the Yankees for the first time prior to the 1979 season and was there until he was traded to the Angels midway through the 1982 season. 

John won more than 20 games in each of his first two years in The Bronx and returned in 1986. He remained with the Yankees through the rest of his major league career, which ended in 1989. 

John started 700 games in his career, the eighth most of all time, and his 4,710 ¹/₃ innings pitched are 19th on the all-time list. 

Tommy John of the Yankees pitches during an MLB game
circa 1980. Getty Images

Rick Cerone played with — and caught — John and called him “a great competitor.’’ 

“He got better with age,’’ Cerone said. “That ball kept sinking and sinking.” 

Cerone also recalled John’s managing days, as John managed the Staten Island Yankees in 2004, as well as two seasons in the independent Atlantic League with Bridgeport. John also spent time as a broadcaster with the Yankees. 

“Tommy was tough to compete against and a terrific teammate,’’ Willie Randolph said. “We were just talking about him today. It’s shocking to hear he’s struggling and I’m praying for him.” 

The native of Terre Haute, Ind., also pitched for Cleveland, the Angels and A’s and finished second in the National League Cy Young vote in 1977 with the Dodgers, behind Philadelphia’s Steve Carlton, and in 1979 with the Yankees, trailing only Baltimore’s Mike Flanagan. 

John, in 2024, revealed he had bladder cancer, but it’s unclear if that is what he is dealing with now.