The first man to perform Tommy John surgery has died at the age of 88.
According to the Sporting News, the Los Angeles Dodgers announced the death of Dr. Frank Jobe on Thursday. He had been the team's physician for decades and later became a special advisor.
The Associated Press reported that a Dodgers spokesman said that Jobe was recently hospitalized with an undisclosed illness and died in Santa Monica, Calif.
Baseball players and officials around the league have been reacting to the news on Twitter.
Commissioner Bud Selig released a statement which read in part:
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the loss of Dr. Frank Jobe, a great gentleman whose work in Baseball revolutionized sports medicine. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Dr. Jobe’s family, friends, Dodger colleagues and many admirers of his pioneering spirit throughout our game.”
The doctor first performed the surgery in 1974 on the pitcher with whom the surgery is named after.