Smoltz’s greatness with Braves doesn’t have to be over
John Smoltz would be an asset if Braves brought him back. (Johnny Crawford/AJC)
The last time I doubted John Smoltz was April 6, 2005. No sense denying it because electronic libraries, like DNA evidence, would convict me in court anyway.
The Braves lost their season opener that year at Florida 9-0. In what was to be Smoltz’s celebrated return to starter after three seasons as a closer, he allowed six runs and seven hits in roughly five minutes (or 1 2/3 innings). For one of the few times in his career, people could scream: “Hah! Told you so!”
The cynical, know-it-all columnist that day seized the moment. The review of Smoltz’s start included this excerpt, “Smoltz didn’t have a bad day. Five runs in four innings — that’s a bad day. Seven runs in 1 2/3 innings is not a bad day — it’s usually the last day. It’s the kind of start that usually comes with a bus ticket. Or a bullpen assignment. Or both.”
If you’re looking for the rest of column, it’s in the Smithsonian, adjacent to the Edsel exhibit.
One great thing about Smoltz: Unlike most of his contemporaries, he made no secret that he was aware of everything that was said and written about him. It fueled him. When someone spends every moment competing with a me-against-the-world mindset, it’s often because they really believe it. The thought of sticking it to critics can be wonderful motivation.
So it was that in Smoltz’s next start five days later, he had 15 strikeouts against the New York Mets and allowed only two runs in 7 1/3 innings. Among his postgame comments: “Some people wanted to send me to the minors.”
I bring this up now because it illustrates the resolve, determination and greatness of an athlete who was celebrated for real Friday. The Braves retired Smoltz’s No. 29. It’s a number he never wanted — he sought Mark Lemke’s No. 20 (it represented an attainable win total). Ironically, pitching prospects would line up for 29 now.
At a luncheon in his honor, Smoltz wrapped up his speech saying, “I’m an Atlanta Brave for life.” It was a nice sentiment. It would be nicer still if he were an Atlanta Brave again.
Notwithstanding the ugliness of Smoltz’s split from the organization, the Braves should do everything possible to bring the former pulse of their pitching staff back into the fold at some point. He was great as a starter, great as a closer, great even after orthopedic surgeons opened up his shoulder and saw hamburger meat. He was a great in the postseason (15-4, 2.67) for a franchise so often associated with postseason failures.
He would be a great pitching coach. I must not be the only one who believes that because Smoltz acknowledged Friday that two teams (not the Braves) approached him not long after retirement to ask if he had any desire to be a pitching coach.
He declined. He’s enjoying being a broadcaster, and it’s unlikely he ever would sacrifice family or golf time again to work a full baseball schedule.
But imagine Smoltz as a roving minor-league instructor. Or a sort of screening member of the scouting department. He did not completely dismiss the idea when I asked him about the possibility.
“I’m looking at broadcasting as a two-year deal, and we’ll see what happens after that,” he said. “There’s a lot of things I said I would never do but I ended up doing them. But you can probably scratch politics off the list.”
Scouts recognize talent. But few can recognize whether an athlete has the intangibles to succeed. When Smoltz goes to Cooperstown one day, it won’t be merely talent that got him there — it will because of everything he overcame, including medical odds.
His good friend, comedian Jeff Foxworthy, joked that he watched Smoltz one game and, “He was adjusting his sleeve, and you could see the duct tape and the bungee cords under his jersey. He was throwing 45 [miles per hour], but he wanted the ball.”
Imagine having someone who could recognize that in a player?
“If you lined up all the draftees and allowed me to ask them questions, I think I could peg a lot of them, just based on what they said,” Smoltz said. “And I think I could help them along the way. But I have to wait for the right time.”
If that time ever comes, the Braves should have a uniform ready. And he can wear his old number.
By Jeff Schultz
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
103 comments Add your comment
Joey
June 9th, 2012
10:50 am
Smoltzie for President!
Ralph
June 9th, 2012
10:53 am
Awesome Competitor!!!! Heart can not be taught it resides within.
Rally
June 9th, 2012
11:19 am
You folks forget how awful smoltz was before 91. He couldn’t hit a tin can this side of Atlanta to save his life. Only a sports psychologist supposedly straightened him out. I give a ton of credit to him….god it was awful to see him throw it to the backstop and lose games.
Don Waddell
June 9th, 2012
11:25 am
Not a bad article. But Smoltz is an overrated blow-hard.
katherine
June 9th, 2012
12:40 pm
Im sure you know a lot about blowing hard don..loser
katherine
June 9th, 2012
12:41 pm
oh and great article schultz
Hillbilly D
June 9th, 2012
1:57 pm
Don Waddell
How can a Hall of Famer, which he is going to be as soon as he’s eligible, be over-rated?
Thomas
June 9th, 2012
2:04 pm
John Smoltz superior fast ball…correct placement.
Marco Pillow
June 9th, 2012
3:16 pm
Pitching coach period. McDowell out.
Quagmire
June 9th, 2012
6:58 pm
DaveinNEPA, like you I still think about game 5 of the 1996 World Series and get sick to my stomach. The Braves should have won that game. In the bottom of the 9th, they had runners on first and third with two outs; Luis Polonia pinch hit for Jermaine Dye and hit a fly ball to deep right CF that Paul O’Neill barely caught on the run. Had he not caught it, both runners would have scored and the Braves, in their final game ever at Fulton County Stadium, would have won to take a 3-2 series lead. Unfortunately, O’Neill barely caught the ball because one of the Yankees’ coaches, Jose Cardinal, waved O’Neill slightly toward right center when he saw that Polonia was swinging late on John Wetteland’s fastballs.
Makes me sick just thinking about it.
Ted Striker
June 9th, 2012
9:52 pm
Tom Got Each — Sometimes those ironing boards do come in handy.
Hillbilly D — Right on, brother. The trade was good for both at the time.
Unassisted Double Play — That staff — the dichotomy of it, the variation, the unique excellence of each member was something that is blue moon stuff.
Ronald Millsaps — I agree that Creflo Dollar is a fraud in what he promotes. However someone being arrested doesn’t mean that someone is guilty. Being money grubber (he is) and being an abuser (which he may or may not be) are two separate things. All that said, Ronald, I totally get where you are coming from. Peace brother.
P Rose — Good stuff. Good trivia. Makes me wish I’d been there to witness it. Thank you for sharing and enlightening. That is awesome about “Fortunate Son.” Awesome.
JSS — (Dude, how you doing? You never write you never call, you never send me a pizza when I’m hungry. Ha!) Excellent points, sir. EXCELLENT. Your analysis is spot on.
Csonka Good stuff Csonka. I find that class knows class and I imagine your kids are in the presence of greatness daily. The greatest hero a kid can ever have is not someone they see on TV — it’s their dad (or mom).
Clusters — I am going to buy you a DQ if I win the (big) lottery. And you have to give me free Mr. Mistys when I come in. And a free ice cream cake on my birthday. So saddle up because i feel lucky.
Bob from Cobb
June 9th, 2012
10:35 pm
Clusters. What the HELL are you smoking? Millsaps. Do us all a favor. Crawl back under your rock! Creflo Dollar doesn’t have ANYTHING TO DO WITH A SPORTS BLOG!
Glad He is Changing a bit
June 10th, 2012
5:47 am
I remember his chilly attitude towards the common man and I remember his horrific “Blow Out” fight with his then wife and being banned from Sea Island. I Think you are a great pitcher but got a ways to go in the personality Dept.
Johnny Vaught
June 10th, 2012
7:08 am
About 95% of your columns belong in the trash.
Optimistic Falcons Fan
June 10th, 2012
9:20 am
If I recollect correctly, early in his career the Braves got him his own Sports Psychologist, and it ump started his career.
Jeff, do you think THAT early training/advice is what helped him overcome so much physical adversity so long so successfully?
Optimistic Falcons Fan
June 10th, 2012
9:22 am
Jump started, that should be – although the ump typo has some interesting connotations as well, considering the generous strike zone Braves pitchers were able to wrangle.
Optimistic Falcons Fan
June 10th, 2012
9:27 am
Leo Mazzoni and his pitch count style of deciding how long to keep pitchers in had to help Smoltzie as well.
I wonder if John would have thrived on a team away from Cox, Mazzone, Maddox, Glavine, great closers, and a GM that was open to using sports psychologists. That Braves team and that run was a perfect storm of talent and management. We as fans were blessed to have lived thru it.
donte080
June 10th, 2012
3:36 pm
Jeff, how’s that “braves crumbling at first sign of adversity” crow tasting these days?
Livan Hernandez SUCKS!
June 10th, 2012
6:06 pm
What was that old fa#t doing but throwing batting practice gopher balls…..he needs to be outright released – he adds nothing to the bullpen or the team – what a freaking joke!!!!
Braves Boi
June 10th, 2012
7:21 pm
Best thing about John Smoltz, he’s sexy as hell. Dumb as a rock when it comes to politics though.
gt4ever
June 10th, 2012
8:40 pm
NO Hall of Famer…. Period!
Johnny Sain
June 10th, 2012
8:53 pm
I’ll just say John Smoltz is my fav Brave due to his professionalism. I’m a freelance radio reporter and I’ve covered many Braves games since my return to Atlanta in 1990. ESPN Radio used mr for game updates and I got Smoltz after the game for a live interview. All went well, but fast forward about a month to a Saturday afternoon game – same situation, but I wanted someone else besides Smoltz. I asked Mike Hamton – he said no. Andruw Jones same thing. Everyone wated out for dinner with family. So, I reluctantly went back to Smoltz- he was very nice said : sure gimme the number,, I’ll call on the way home. ” so I checked on the way home and called the producer. Smoltz did it and he
said is he yoiur buddy or something? No- he’s just like that….:)
Gordon
June 10th, 2012
8:55 pm
Is there a correlation between great pitchers and great pitching coaches?
Jl
June 10th, 2012
11:29 pm
Smoltz is the greatest brave pitcher of our generation. Talking shit about him is like saying your a Yankees fan and not liking jeter. if not for chipper he would easily be the greatest brave of all time. So before you say something negative about him maybe you should just learn a little baseball history or show some respect to one of the top pitchers this game has ever saw.
Casey
June 11th, 2012
11:31 am
That’s why you watch the game before you run your mouth about a Cy Young winner and future Hall of Famer. Smoltz gave up a 2-out grand slam. If he gets a fly ball instead, it’s not such a disaster.
Mike
June 11th, 2012
1:10 pm
Here’s the real statement… 3 HOF pitchers in the same rotation and one Championship to show for it. They should sue the organization for non-support… NO BATS.
TERRIBLE ARTICLE
June 11th, 2012
1:56 pm
Your a moron, he likes his free time way too much. Have you seen the dude. He broadcasts a little and plays golf all week. I think he likes where things are at.
Kane337
June 11th, 2012
5:11 pm
Thank you for all the memories John. See you in Cooperstown.
Gray
June 11th, 2012
7:14 pm
Back in 1984, I made my one (and only) visit to the3 Baseball Hall of Fame. AT the age of 23, I had a field day, perusing all the atheletes, all the memorabilia, etc.
I’ve yet to have an opportunity to return, but, now that Smoltz, Maddux, Cox, Glavine and a few others will soon grace those hallowed halls, I’ll make every attempt to go back….ASAP!!
Dre
June 11th, 2012
9:40 pm
Jock sniffers, please stop already! Listen to yourselves…you are grown men idolizing a baseball player. Lol. Smoltz made your memories? Lol! Unreal!
aps
June 12th, 2012
7:48 am
The Braves would have to completely rebuild the dugout to accommodate Smoltz’s ego.
Tami
June 12th, 2012
8:15 am
Great article on Smoltzie. I too believe he’d be a great pitching coach, or as the article suggests, a roving minor league instructor. The minor leagues certainly can’t be overlooked, and Smoltz could invariably help some young prospects with promise begin to realize their full potential (or…conversely, face reality). I’d love to see Chipper as the hitting coach as well. Wouldn’t it be something if both of them ended up doing just that at the same time? I’m sure it will be down the line for Chipper, though, as he has family focus as well. Whatever happens, John & Chipper can pretty much request to do anything they want with the Braves’ organization and it will be granted to them — with MUCH appreciation!
wreckbuzz
June 12th, 2012
12:34 pm
No offense to Smoltz, but if the Braves are looking for a new pitching coach the perfect guy works mornings at 680 The Fan.
Mel
June 12th, 2012
1:05 pm
Isn’t this the same jerk that sued his neighbor for building a house next to him in Alpharetta because it blocked the sun from his pool?
Born a Braves Fan Die a Braves Fan
June 12th, 2012
1:53 pm
Smoltzie is and always will be the man. I was born and raised in Atlanta and watched by far the best pitching staff ever put together. Being a former all state baseball player I could not imagine facing maddux who painted every corner with a laser sight, then Glavine who stuff was so nasty, and then you get Smoltzie firing the ball in. The Braves used to be feared I bet there where so many players that would see the Braves on their schedule and think here we go again and here goes my batting average going down. There will never be a pitching rotation ever like that again. Thanks for all the memories!!
DawgInaTruck
June 12th, 2012
2:19 pm
As a closer, Smoltz threw the best three-pitch-sequence I’ve ever seen. Strike one painted a corner at 95-97 mph, strike two was what I assumed to be a change up at about 89. Everyone in the park (including the batter, whose name I’ve forgotten) just knew Smoltz was going back to the heater. Instead, strike three was at approximately 77 mph. The poor guy never had a chance and probably thought, “I don’t care if I never see him again.”
Smoltz not only had great stuff, he knew how to pitch.
Observer
June 12th, 2012
10:47 pm
OVERRATED.
BERT BLYLEVIN WASN’T SELECTED TO HALL UNTIL 14TH TRY, AND THEN WITH ONLY 79% OF WRITERS VOTES.
BLYLEVIN HAD BETTER ERA AND 70 MORE WINS…..AND SMOLTZ WAS ON A FAR BETTER TEAM.
SMOLTZ WAS….AND IS……OVERRATED. RETIRE THE JERSEY NUMBER OF SOMEONE WHO WON 215 GAMES???????
KEEP THE BAR THAT LOW AND THEY WILL BE WEARING THREE DIGIT NUMBERS NEXT DECADE.
Tired of it
June 12th, 2012
10:58 pm
Would somebody please stand up, show some balls and make Freddi G answer for the way he manages a pitching staff in late game situations. No one is going to win them all but damn don’t sit there on your ass and hope your pitcher shows some kind of resemblance to a performance 365 days old. And Roger McDowell couldn’t tie Leo Mazzone’s shoes. I read this comment and I couldn’t agree more. I really have to question the fiber of a reporter (columnist?) who does not deal with the managerial decisions regarding pitching in this game. You seem to represent the Atlanta media so well, fearfully shivering to never ruffle any feathers. If you were on New York papers you’d be a copy boy.
Observer
June 13th, 2012
12:55 am
Tired of it….
You are right on target. I saw the game and was thinking the same thing. That game was a victory. Minor was great.
Freddie lost that game. Period.
Waffle House or Bust
June 13th, 2012
10:20 am
I said it before Fredi was here, Smoltz would make a great manager and not stand for the buddy system going on like it does now.
Nunna Yobinnes
June 13th, 2012
11:04 am
How about manager? We could use one of those.
SB
June 13th, 2012
3:04 pm
What if you can’t stand the guy personally?
Producer
June 13th, 2012
7:58 pm
Observer, it’s the 215 wins and the 150+ saves that will get him in there way before his 14th try.
JSS
June 14th, 2012
6:52 pm
@ Ted Striker…
What’s happening Playa? How’s everyone doing? Last 3 classes of Grad School are currently under way… Sorry for not staying in touch more over the last year as I have been in the midst of that, an LDR which has given me a ton of frequent flyer miles to colonial city in Mexico, and my Mother’s continued health thing… My god daughter is back in Athens and my schedule is going to clear from Labor Day to November, so drop me a line! Oh, I’ll drop you a pic from the last Mexico trip… So much for being stuck in my “Momma basement!” Wink wink!!!
And keep dropping those “page hits!”
Peace!!!
Maria
June 15th, 2012
2:26 am
This is the most beautiful sentence in this article: He would be a great pitching coach.
Bless God—I’m sick of McDowell. Trounce his rump out of Atlanta and take Smoltzie. He might really consider joining if the Braves asked but it is really cool that he got offers from others too. Shows just how special he really is.
HOF 10
June 15th, 2012
4:55 am
Two memories:
One: In ‘91, near the all-Star break, Smoltz fielded a dribbler down the third-base line, turned toward first and slipped to the ground. Had what “what next?” look on his face that summed up his first half of a season that was going well for almost every other Brave. From that point on, he was about as good a pitcher as we’ve seen.
Two: Game 2, Braves-Astros, NLDS, Smottz dominated versus Roger Clemens. The game where rookie Brian McCann hit a home run almost into my lap in the right field stands.
it is what it is
June 15th, 2012
11:21 am
all the millions this one made and had to foreclose on a home in Wyoming? Geez whats up with that?
Does that give him bad credit like it would the rest of us?
Eb
June 15th, 2012
11:35 pm
@Quagmire- The Paul Oneil shift you mentioned is sickening because Bobby Cox never did that type of stuff. Cox planned every move in the Spring and executed during the season whether it was working or not. Any manager could have put together great numbers with the talent that was given to him. Cox should go down as someone who did less with more than any manager in MLB history.
Eb
June 15th, 2012
11:42 pm
@Observer- You’re a complete dolt. Unlike a fool like you, HOF voters will take into consideration that Smoltz could have easily gotten 250-300 wins had the team not needed him to move to a closer role. Smoltz made the move and was a dominant closer. Only a head in the sand goofball like you could make such a ridiculous statement.
BBQ MAN
June 16th, 2012
6:37 pm
The pitching issues can be easily remedied with a total paradigm shift. forget the roles of starter, mid,long-relief only! a pitcher’s job is the same no matter the inning(s) get outs and allow no runs. PERIOD! a Good Manager with a good pitching coach should be able to manage the pitching staff inning by inning, game by game. Doing this, you could feed the innings to those pitching the best at that time and not on their “potential” or “history”. The current system is ancient and needs to be changed