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Youd be hard pressed to find a man whos had a greater impact on baseball over the past 40 years. Were not talking about Hank Aaron, or Bob Gibson or Roger Clemens, Cal Ripken Jr. or Barry Bonds. Were talking about Dr. Frank Jobe who passed away Thursday night at the age of 88. He is the surgeon who pioneered the ulnar collateral ligament transplant surgery that saved so many elbows and prolonged the careers of so many players, pitchers and position players alike. Dr. Jobe first performed his landmark surgery in 1974. He was actually in the stands watching at Dodger Stadium when Tommy John, for whom the operation will forever be known, blew out his elbow in a game against the Expos. John was out of action for 18 months after the surgery. But he not only returned, he flourished. Tommy John was named Comeback Player of the Year in 1976 and went on to win another 164 games with the Dodgers and Yankees before retiring at age 46. He finnished with 288 victories and a 3.34 ERA. He appeared in three All-Star Games after his surgery. He was never the best pitcher of his generation or anything close to that, but his career numbers and the fact he rebounded from this operation the way he did should in the Hall of Fame in my mind. Just how important has this operation been? Well before last season, 124 of the 360 pitchers on the opening day rosters had undergone at least one "Tommy John". Its not just the pitchers though, whove gone through this career-saving surgery. Carl Crawford, Rafael Furcal, ex-Jay Kelly Johnson and current Jays catching prospect A.J Jimenez have all undergone this elbow surgery. The first Blue Jays pitcher I could find who had the operation was David Wells back in 1985. But the list grows from there. Jimmy Key in 1988, former skipper John Farrell in 1991 while he was pitching for Cleveland and the list goes on. You have Billy Koch, A.J Burnett while he was with Florida, Jason Frasor who had it done twice, B.J. Ryan in 2007, Dustin McGowan, Shaun Marcum, Josh Johnson while with Florida and Chris Carpenter with St. Louis in 2007. All owe their careers to Dr. Jobe and those surgeons who have followed his trailblazing path. The disturbing thing is the way elbow injuries have increased. There were 24 documented "Tommy John" surgeries in 2013, including those of Mets star pitching prospect Matt Harvey and Blue Jays journeyman pitcher Ramon Ortiz, who underwent the operation for a second time. But the worst year by far was 2012, when there were 46 "Tommy Johns" including four to Blue Jays Drew Hutchison, Kyle Drabek, his second, Luis Perez and the aforementioned A.J. Jimenez. There are two known pitchers who actually had three elbow ligament transplant surgeries. Jose Rijo who helped spark the Reds to victory in the 1990 World Series and Jason Isringhausen, who turned from a top starting prospect with the Mets to a standout reliever later in his career. Rijo is truly a remarkable story. After being named an All-Star with the Reds in 1995, he suffered a serious elbow injury and was out of the game for five full seasons. He finally battled back in 2001 as a reliever with Cincinnati. It was said after three "Tommy John" surgeries and two other arm operations, his elbow had almost no ligament left. But ironically, the arthritis in his elbow, the scar tissue and the fact he had built up the muscles in his forearm to such an extent, he was still able to throw against all odds. Rijo retired in 2002 but not before winning the final ball game ever played at old Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. One pitcher who doesnt need to worry about his ulnar collateral ligament is Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. Thats because he was born without one. Like Rijo, Dickey has defied the odds with many a doctor saying Dickey shouldnt be able to pitch without that ligament in his elbow. Yet two years ago, he won the Cy Young Award with the Mets and is still going strong with the Blue Jays at 39. At least 85 per cent of "Tommy John" patients make a complete recovery and in most cases, their elbows are stronger than ever. However, there are some who dont make it all the way back. Blue Jays closer B.J Ryan was never the same after his surgery in 2007 and was out of the game within a couple of years. But cases like that are the exception rather than the rule and the game would be a pale shadow of itself without the medical marvels of Dr. Frank Jobe. As a footnote, we should also mention Dr. Jobe pioneered a surgical technique on another Dodgers star, Orel Hershiser. It was a less invasive shoulder procedure that reduced the risk of collateral damage to the shoulder structure and sped up the recovery time. This and That Phillies infielder Freddy Galves will one day be the answer to a trivia question. On Thursday, he became the first player to hit a home run off the Yankees Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka. I try not to get too caught up in the struggles of pitchers in spring training since theyre often just working on command or one specific pitch but Ive got to admit on Wednesday, I was a little bit concerned when Brandon Morrow gave up five runs on six hits over three innings to the Pirates. Then I noticed on the same day, White Sox ace Chris Sale gave up six runs on six hits and a walk in just 2-2/3 innings against the Padres. Then, the Cubs Jeff Samardzija surrendered three runs on four hits in three innings in a 7-5 loss to Colorado. At that point, I realized its too early to be making hard judgements. Omar Narvaez Mariners Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday. Taylor Guilbeau Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. https://www.cheapmariners.com/2985k-art-warren-jersey-mariners.html . -- The Vancouver Whitecaps remained unbeaten with a scoreless draw at the New England Revolution on Saturday. Harold Reynolds Jersey . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. Ichiro Suzuki Jersey . The Rangers announced after Thursdays 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees that they would purchase Williams contract from Triple-A Round Rock. The 32-year-old Williams was released by Houston earlier this month after going 1-4 with a 6.TORONTO -- Kyle Lowry didnt hide the fact he met with contenders like the Miami Heat and Houston Rockets during the interview portion of NBA free agency, but in the end the opportunity to call the Toronto Raptors "his team" was too good to pass up. Lowry and the Raptors officially announced a four-year US$48 million dollar deal Thursday. The deal was reported last week but couldnt be made official until Thursday, when the moratorium on signings was lifted. "They were real factors. I did my homework. I did my research," the point guard said. "I had a couple meetings with my family and we circled the pros and cons and we took teams away one by one. "Other teams had some great things and I think they had pieces that were comparable pieces, but I think the situation that Im in, the age Im (at), me being able to lead a team, to lead a team and grow as a person, that was a very big factor in it." Lowry played a large role in the Raptors ending a five-year playoff drought this past season. The 28-year-old averaged 17.9 points and 7.4 assists per game and had a player efficiency rating of 20.1, which placed him 22nd in the league and sixth among point guards. The six-foot, 205-pound Philadelphia native, made $6.2 million last season. His new deal, which carries an annual average value of $12 million puts him atop the Raptors payroll. By comparison, DeMar DeRozans deal, which is in the second of four years, pays him $9.5-million in 2014-15. "The deal was done exactly the way I wanted," said Lowry, who joined the Raptors in a 2012 trade with Houston. "You dont get many chances to say its your team, honestly. As a competitor, as a professional, I relish in that. The fact that I get to say that its my team, Im the leader of the team." Toronto finished a franchise-best 46-34 in the regular season to win the clubs second Atlantic Division before losing to Brooklyn in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. Re-signing Lowry, one of the top unrestricted point guards available, was a high priority for Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri. "It was a good feeling I had coming out of the meeting (with Kyle)," said Ujiri of negotiations. "Ive had this meeting before where its gone the other way and you come out and youre like going what just happened there? or where is this ggoing?.dddddddddddd "With Kyle, theres always been a great spirit and great communication so I had a sense, but with free agency you never know because it can spin in one day. Were glad he made the decision. It says so much about him and maybe even our organization." Lowrys signing is just part of what has been a busy off-season for Ujiri. Thursday afternoon the club announced it had dealt forward Steve Novak and a future second-round draft choice to the Utah Jazz for point guard Diante Garrett. The six-foot-four, 190-pound Garrett appeared in 71 games with the Jazz last season, averaging 3.5 points, 1.7 assists and 14.8 minutes. On Wednesday night reports surfaced the team has re-signed Greivis Vasquez to a two-year, $13 million contract. Vasquezs signing is in addition to reports the team has inked big man Patrick Patterson to a three-year US$18 million contract. Both deals are expected to be announced Monday. Toronto has also reportedly come to terms with 18-year-old Brazilian Bruno Cabloco, who Toronto took 20th overall at the NBA draft. The Raptors have also reportedly brought back James Johnson with a two-year deal. The forward spent part of the 2010-11 season and all of 2011-12 with Toronto. Last week, Ujiri dealt John Salmons contract along with a 2015 second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Lou Williams and the rights to Brazilian rookie Lucas (Bebe) Nogueira. Ujiri admitted the re-signing of Vasquez, and the acquisition of Williams, were moves to protect the long-term health of Lowry. "Hundred per cent in our game plan because hes signed here for four years," said Ujiri. "Theres going to be lots of games and we have to think about that. We have to think of his body and the load of work. Greivis will take a good load off of (Kyle) and so will Lou." As for future signings, Ujiri doesnt believe he has much left. "In terms of signings I think we only have one more spot," he said. "Were looking to bring Bebe, to sign him, were trying to figure that out and after that, we have one more spot." Lowry has confidence in his general manager. "I believe in Masai, hes going to always make the right decision," Lowry said. "No matter what he did, youve got to support it because his track record is so good." ' ' '