MLB legend Tommy John had a blast talking with our Shaun Clancy on the latest episode of “Craic and the Bat” on Irish Baseball TV. The conversation was wide-ranging and covered a lot of ground about life, baseball, and Tommy’s legendary career:
- Tommy’s recent health struggles with COVID and hospital visits (he’s doing much better now!)
- His decision to play baseball over basketball, despite the best efforts of legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp
- His first professional baseball contract
- Thoughts on the Hall of Fame and his 188 no-decisions
- The elbow injury that led to the first “Tommy John” surgery. And how that surgery had only been tried with polio patients.
- Tommy’s favorite season (’77 Dodgers) and favorite team to pitch for (Yankees)
- The contrasting ownership styles of the O’Malley family (Dodgers) and George Steinbrenner (Yankees)
- Tommy’s thoughts on Thurman Munson and his tragic death
- Tommy’s thoughts on the current state of the game of baseball
“The Toughest Day I’ve Ever Spent at the Ballpark”
TJ, who won 288 games during his 26-year career, shared his memories of the tragic death of Thurman Munson on August 2, 1979.
Munson, a 7x All-Star and 1976 American League MVP, died tragically when his Cessna Citation jet crashed while practicing landings at Akron-Canton Regional Airport.
“I get a phone call. ‘Hello, Tommy George Steinbrenner,’ he explained to host Shaun Clancy on a recent episode of “Craic and the Bat” on Irish Baseball TV. “And he’s crying. He said, ‘Thurman’s plane crashed, he’s dead.”
John, whose next start came just a few days after Munson’s death, remembered how difficult it was to pitch that day. “We flew from Newark to Akron to go to the funeral,” John said. “That was the toughest, toughest day I’ve ever spent at the ballpark. Because the guy that you loved, I mean, you know — he was the captain of your team — is gone, he’s never gonna be back in uniform again.”
John also shared a story about how Munson’s intelligence helped him beat the Milwaukee Brewers in his first game in a Yankee uniform. Munson suggested John “pitch backwards” — using the curveball early in the count and fastballs later in the count — which was the opposite of how he had approached the Brewers during spring training. John was surprised because Munson hadn’t caught him when the Yankees faced the Brewers in spring training. “And he said, ‘What do you think I do, sit over on the bench and eat ice cream?'”. “And that’s how I beat the Brewers that first time. And he was he was a highly intelligent catcher and a good guy. God, he was good guy.”
“I Couldn’t Pitch Today”
John also revealed what he considers to be the best game he ever pitched. “The best game I ever pitched was in the 1977 playoffs. I was pitching against Philadelphia, in the rain, against Steve Carlton,” he said. John and the Dodgers defeated Carlton and the Phillies by a score of 4-1. “I pitched nine innings in a pouring down rainstorm in Philadelphia,” he continued.
However, John also revealed that he isn’t a fan of the current state of major league baseball.
“I couldn’t pitch today because I don’t want some dumb S.O.B. over there, who has no idea what’s going through my mind, to tell me how to pitch or what to pitch,” he said. “In fact, I don’t even watch baseball. Because it’s not the same game I played. What they play now is not the same game that I played for 26 seasons.”
