[2] Yocum gained prestige by extending the careers of several Major League Baseball players, by repairing injuries that once would have ended their playing days.

[2] Specialized in sports medicine, shoulder, elbow and knees, Yocum worked along with Frank Jobe, who performed the original Tommy John surgery.

He was also a panel reviewer for the American Journal of Sports Medicine, a board trustee at Centinela Hospital Medical Center,[2] and authored numerous publications and books.

[4] The Los Angeles Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic was founded by Jobe, who shared the workplace and a close friendship with Yocum for 35 years.

[2] The careers of big leaguers benefited from Yocum's expertise, among others pitchers Ted Lilly (knee), Stephen Strasburg (Tommy John), C. J. Wilson (elbow) and Jordan Zimmermann (Tommy John), as well as outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury (ribs), slugger Kendry Morales (leg repair) and infielder Dustin Pedroia (foot).