Former pitching great Tommy John hospitalized with COVID-19

FILE - In this 1979 file photo, New York Yankees pitcher Tommy John delivers during a baseball game. John has been battling COVID-19 for at least three weeks, but the former pitching great disputes reports that he is a coronavirus denier. "I'm not a denier. I've had it, baby," John said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. The 77-year-old John remains hospitalized near his home in Indio, Calif. He said he started to feel ill following a trip to Nashville before he was hospitalized on Dec. 13. (AP Photo/File)