New York Yankees History: Tommy John’s Three Error Play
By David Hill
Errors are an unavoidable problem when playing baseball. Everyone makes one from time to time, and the hope is that the damage can be minimized. But to make three errors on one play, such as the New York Yankees Tommy John did on this day in 1988, is a truly amazing feat of ineptitude.
Tommy John had a long and storied career that, in all seriousness, was not expected to last nearly as long as it did. He had torn the UCL in his left elbow in 1974, a death sentence for pitchers at the time. But after undergoing the surgery that would later bear his name, John pitched until 1989, winning almost 300 games and helping to save the careers of pitchers ever since.
In 1988, John was approaching the end of his career. While he still had his moments, what happened on this day would not be one of his career highlights. Pitching for the New York Yankees against the Milwaukee Brewers, John achieved what is believed to be a first, committing three errors on one play.
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The play started innocently enough. With one out and Jim Gantner on first, John got Jeffrey Leonard to hit a slow chopper up the first base line. It looked like an easy enough play, but John bobbled the grounder. With any possibility of a double play having ended, John attempted to throw to first, but fired the ball down wide and into the right field foul territory for his second error on the play.
Meanwhile, Gantner and Leonard were tearing around the bases, sensing an opportunity to potentially get a couple of runs on the board. As Ganter was rounding third, the throw from right came in, right to John. Seeing the chance for a play at the plate, he threw home…..and sailed the toss wide again. Leonard would also come around to score, as John allowed two unearned runs on one innocent grounder up the first base line.
It was certainly a bizarre play, but Tommy John and the New York Yankees got the last laugh by taking a 16-3 victory. Even those three errors would not make a major difference, even if that may be the worst moment in John’s career.