Tommy John was always a baseball winner

Terre Haute, Ind.: The death of Tommy John Saturday at age 83 came right after he missed being at Yankee Stadium for Old-Timers’ Day on Aug. 8. He was in hospice care valiantly battling health issues. He instead sent a goodbye letter to the Yankees, his friends and fans thanking them for their support, adoration and respect throughout his years in Major League Baseball.

His lifetime record is 288-131, with more than 760 pitching appearances spanning a 26-year career that featured a 3.34 earned run average, completing 162 games, making him the seventh-highest-winning left-handed pitcher in MLB history. Contrary to today’s MLB starting pitchers’ performance, a complete nine-inning game is an unheard-of phenomenon. Having signed with the Cleveland Indians in 1963, John was later traded to the Chicago White Sox. Of his 131 losses, many were by heartbreaking margins of 2-1,1-0 or 3-2 scores. He was a four-time All-Star. Beyond the Indians and White Sox, he pitched for the Dodgers, Yankees, Angels and Athletics. John retired from baseball in 1989.

Combining those disappointing losses with the period of time involving his inactivity from baseball while recuperating from “Tommy John surgery,” the man would’ve had a lifetime 300-plus-game record, placing him alongside the once-great Boston/Milwaukee Braves pitcher Warren Spahn. Therefore, why is John not in the Baseball Hall of Fame?

Earl Beal

Unsafe conditions

Rockaway Beach: Regarding the recent death of a swimmer at Rockaway Beach, the NYPD, FDNY, heroic lifeguards and all first responders did an amazing job rescuing the teens. Tragically, one of them didn’t survive. Unfortunately, their response time and ability to access the beach was drastically hindered by illegal parking on the south side of Shorefront Parkway. This is not a new issue. The community has been advocating for years for it to be addressed. At a recent community meeting, when it was requested that zebra stripes be added to deter illegal parking, the NYC Department of Transportation stated that “it’s a waste of paint.” This type of attitude and disregard for the safety and wellbeing of residents and visitors to our beaches is unacceptable. Anything that hinders first responders from doing their jobs is a travesty and must be corrected.

Jo Ann Shapiro

Church survival

Bronx: Re “Fight to save Upper West Side Church coming to an end” (Aug. 16). It should be entirely up to the church. If it can continue services and still provide community programs and chooses to do so, that should be done. And if a well-thought-out and well-managed church renovation coupled with a community component is possible, that should happen. Unfortunately, many churches throughout NYC don’t have the gravitas of the Upper West Side community, which is wealthy in affluent residents, culture and activism. Everyone can pray that the right decision is made to protect the church as a place of worship and to get enhancements to be a positive force in the community.

Barbara Jones

Must answer

Brick, N.J.: To Voicer Joy Ellen Goldberg: Dr. Anthony Fauci had a stellar career working for our government in AIDS research and other deadly diseases. However, I disagree with you, as Fauci is a public servant and has to answer questions.

Billy Rath

Sinister spokesperson

Manhattan: To Voicer JoAnn Lee Frank: Your laudatory letter about departing White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is sadly laughable. Leavitt used whatever talent she had to promote President Trump’s lies on a daily basis. She defended the illegal war with Iran and the murder of innocent Iranian civilians, including the bombing of a girls’ elementary school. She defended war crimes in Iran and Venezuela, the ICE thugs and concentration camps for immigrants. She shamelessly lied, blaming innocent Americans for vandalizing a pool to assuage her man-child boss’ fragile ego. Leavitt’s legacy to the American people is gaslighting and lying. If that makes her a great asset to the Republican Party, that’s a truly sad comment on the state of politics in our once-great country, soon to be great again starting with this November’s elections.

William Bredin

Too far?

Ashburn, Va.: Conventional wisdom has it that politicians even suggesting a cut to Medicare or Social Security have committed political suicide. Trump and the Republican Congress haven’t just touched the third rail, they’ve kicked it. Regarding Medicare, Trump ended the Medicare Part D subsidy program that seniors rely on to reduce their prescription drug plan premiums. He cut Social Security’s disability benefits (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income for disabled and low-income people. Trump even warned us he might cut Social Security in March 2024, when he remarked in a CNBC interview that “there is a lot you can do in terms of (Social Security) entitlements, in terms of cutting.” Well, now he’s done it. But very few Republicans are concerned, probably because the matter seems complicated and Republican legislators are staying silent. Will this affect the November elections or will Trump and his congressional Republicans ride to another victory?

Mike Barrett

Fascist goons

Manhattan: I just returned from Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Cologne. My hotels were in lovely residential neighborhoods. As we walked around, we noticed brass squares in the sidewalk, called Stolperstein (German for “stumbling blocks”). There were several on every block. They commemorated people who were kidnapped and ultimately killed by Hitler’s Gestapo. I looked at them and wondered what the difference is between the Gestapo and the ICE thugs? We all know that the same thing is happening now with ICE. The Gestapo didn’t have their faces covered. ICE is ruining lives, families and dreams. We must start to memorialize the poor souls who are being disappeared by ICE thugs!

Joie Anderson

Speak freely

Manhattan: Curious minds challenge existing rules. More questions prevent absolute control. Open debates drive more human progress. A curious mind can say and ask anything. Freedom of thought today will help prevent more dictatorships.

Alan Lehrer

Suspicious details

Bronx: To Voicer Gregory W. Chupa, who asks about evidence that the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pa. was staged: Let’s start with the American flag being lowered to behind the stage just before the shots were fired. Then we can go to the Secret Service letting Trump stand up. Then there’s a bullet moving from front to back, not leaving any blood behind the ear but blood in front of it, on his bloated orange face. I’ll mention his ear not showing any damage. It grew back. Then there’s the fact that we all know how Trump holds a grudge, but he has never mentioned the “assassin.” Care to refute or explain any of it?

W. Twirley

Better defense

Brooklyn: The National Defense Authorization Act passed by the House does not infringe upon U.S. sovereignty over its military decisions. It requires the secretary of defense to appoint an executive agent to coordinate defense technological research between the U.S. and Israel. This will result in more rapid advances in missile defense systems and other vital areas.

Wendy Jackson