"I've been given an opportunity as one of the only players, the only one right now, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with Tommy John surgery." The Great Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz at his induction ceremony in Cooperstown, NM, yesterday, July 26th. He was 34 when he had the procedure in which a damaged ulnar collateral ligament in the arm is replaced by a tendon from another part of the body. "It's an epidemic. It's something that is affecting our game. It's something that I thought would cost me my career, but thanks to Dr. James Andrews and all those before him performing the surgery with such precision, has caused it to be almost a false-read, like a Band-Aid you'd put on your arm. I want to encourage the families and parents that are out there to understand that this not normal to have a surgery at 14 and 15 years old." Smoltz then talked about why he thinks so many kids and early career.