Tommy John Surgery

Moddy,

I think we've reached the point where a good percentage of sports fans know the term "Tommy John Surgery" well enough that it tells them more than just "Surgery to repair..." I'm a fairly knowledgeable sports fan and I don't know which ligament is being replaced, but I do know it's a serious procedure that involves transplanting a ligament from a cadaver and usually requires a year to return, and probably two years to be back to normal.

In short, "Tommy John" tells me a hell of a lot more than "ulnar collateral ligament." I would probably use both.

 

You've been in this business for 25 years and think Tommy John surgery has to do with the shoulder? Hope you've been enjoying those girls volleyball games.

And if you'd like, I'll give you the dictionary citings of "sportswriter."

And doc is wrong about the 93 years. I've only been a bitter old prick for the past 50 or so years.

 

This is why I used both. Say just "Tommy John surgery" and the baseball fan knows what it is. Say "Tommy John surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament" and both the baseball fan and casual fan are covered. And, the baseball fan who wasn't really sure what Tommy John sruegery entailed now knows.

After starting and reading this thread, I going to keep using the "Tommy John surgery to replace the ulnar collateral ligament" sentence.

 

I had Pete Incaviglia surgery a few years back.

 

What does that entail, exactly?

 

Whatever it is, the chance of success is only about .240.

 

Point being, you should describe the procedure. If the proper name is comprehendable, that would suffice. But, a layman's term or a colloquialism isn't sufficient.
It's a fine line. We're not medical journals, but we're not in Pete's Tavern, either.

 

I think it depends on the audience. An audience of sports fanatics or regular readers of a sports page probably don't need an explanation of Tommy John surgery every single time it's mentioned.

If you're writing an A1 centerpiece on someone who's having it, an explanation is probably in order. Along with the formal name of the surgery, which is ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (or UCL) for anyone who doesn't know.

 

Tommy John surgery? You must be covering Little League.

 

Really? There was a sports journalist on the first page of this thread, 20 years in the business, that thought it was a shoulder surgery. Five-word explanation, in addition to Tommy John: "ligament reconstruction of the elbow." What's the big deal?
I'm with Moddy on this one.

 

Agreed. I was surprised to see his last year was 1989, thought it was earlier. Still, that's a loooong time ago.

I got to interview him in the early 1980s -- one of the nicer pro athletes I met and writers also loved him because his games went quickly. And he transcended sports for a while when his kid fell out of a window and was in a coma for a time before recovering. But I don't think he's still a household name. Been too long.