Tommy John selling signed MRI photos from famous elbow injury
Former left-handed pitcher Tommy John — the man for whom ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction surgery is named — is selling a set of four MRI’s of his elbow signed by himself and the late Dr. Frank Jobe, who performed the famous surgery in 1974, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell.
You can see the prints here.
The print costs $1,295 and the proceeds will benefit John’s "Let's Do It" Foundation.
The images were taken two years ago when John visited a hospital in Indianapolis to have an examination. The doctor took the photos of the now-famous elbow reconstruction out of curiosity, Rovell reports.
Limited Edition Print from the Let's Do It Foundation, Inc #constantcontact http://t.co/HMbW6dlql5
— Tommy John (@TommyJohn288) May 3, 2014
Tommy John (left) posted this photo with Dr. Frank Jobe to John's twitter account after Jobe died in March of this year, with the caption: 'He pitched a great game. #RIPDrJobe #letsdoitfoundation.'
"Nobody had ever thought of taking pictures of what the nerve looked like on 'Patient Zero,'" said his agent, Kim Berger. "When the images came up, it was like looking at the Titanic. It happened so long ago and it was so beautiful."
There were 100 prints made, and 99 will be for sale. The remaining print was donated to the Los Angeles Dodgers last month when the team dedicated its training center to Jobe, who passed away in March.
John went on to win 164 games after the revolutionary surgery, which was more than the 124 he had won before the procedure. Thousands of players have since elected to undergo Tommy John surgery, with 16 major league pitchers opting to have the surgery just since February.
H/t: ESPN
More from NESN: