Quick! Name that pitcher for the Atlanta Braves that won all those games in the 90’s. No, I’m not talking about Greg Maddux, the other Braves pitcher. No, not Tom Glavine either, I’m talking about the OTHER one. Yes, that’s right; I’m talking about John Smoltz.
When it comes to the great Atlanta Braves trio that dominated the National League in the 1990’s it seems the order of importance is almost always Greg Maddux first, then Tom Glavine second and then John Smoltz third. Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are both great pitchers, no doubt about it, but it’s about time John Smoltz got his due.
John Smoltz was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 22nd round of the 1985 draft, the 574 selection overall. Smoltz was much more talented than the 574th selection but many people believed Smoltz would pass up whatever team drafted him and go play basketball for Michigan State (Smoltz to this day is still a huge Spartans fan come tournament time). When Smoltz’s hometown Detroit Tigers drafted him he decided to sign with the Tigers.
John Smoltz began to rise in the organization but in 1987 the Detroit Tigers were in a pennant race with the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Smoltz was traded to the Atlanta Braves for veteran pitcher Doyle Alexander. The rest of the season Doyle Alexander went 9 – 0 with a 1.53 ERA and helped the Tigers fend off the Yankees and Blue Jays for a playoff spot. Seeing how well Doyle Alexander did, John Smoltz now had some big shoes to fill.
It wouldn’t take long for John Smoltz to live up to his potential. In the 1989 season Smoltz went 12 – 11 but the bad record was mostly because of the Braves lack of offense. Smoltz actually had a very good 2.94 ERA and the emergence of him and Tom Glavine is the reason people started to be optimistic about the Braves.
In 1991 John Smoltz got off to a very disappointing season. He started the season with a 2 – 11 record. Smoltz started to see a sports psychologist and once he did that he went 12 – 2 for the rest of the season. The Braves barely won a spot in the playoffs and Smoltz played in his first postseason. Smoltz showed right away that he was going to be a dependable pitcher in the postseason. During the NLCS Smoltz started 2 games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, went 2 – 0 with a 1.76 ERA including a complete game shutout. He continued his domination in the World Series where he started another two games and this time had a 1.26 ERA but got no decisions in either game.
It wouldn’t be the last time John Smoltz dominated in the postseason. The following year John Smoltz started three games in the NLCS against the Pirates, went 2 – 0 again with a 2.66 ERA and was named the NLCS MVP. Smoltz then went on to the World Series where he started another two games and had a record of 1 – 0. It wouldn’t be until 1993 that Smoltz would lose a playoff game and he lost that game despite having a 0.00 ERA, they lost on an error. Smoltz played in seventeen playoff games before finally losing one because of his own faults.
Smoltz had bone chips in 1995 and had just a 12 – 7 record and had his worst postseason of his career. Fortunately for the Braves they still won the World Series that year because of Maddux and Glavine. Unfortunately for Smoltz that was when Maddux and Glavine really started to over shadow him.
So what did Smoltz do? He responded by having the best season of his career. In 1996 John Smoltz went 24 – 8 with a 2.94 ERA and 276 strikeouts. At one point in the season John Smoltz won fourteen straight games. He won the National League Cy Young with ease, getting 26 first place votes out of 28. In 1997 Smoltz had another 241 strikeouts and a 3.02 ERA but only went 15 – 12 because of poor run support. In 1998 he went an incredible 17 – 3 and lost the Cy Young to his teammate Glavine because Glavine won 20 games, even though 20 – 6 isn’t as good a winning percentage as 17 – 3.
Then came a change in Smoltz’s life. In 2000 Smoltz had Tommy John surgery and in 2001 he was ineffective as a starter and was moved to the bullpen. In 2002 Smoltz was the closer for the Braves and saved 55 games, a National League record. Let me repeat that again. John Smoltz had Tommy John surgery, the worst surgery a pitcher can possibly have. Then he came back and in his very first attempt at closing he broke the National League record for saves. Who does that? Other than Superman.
It gets even better though. In 2003 Smoltz was plagued by injuries, but he still had 45 saves and a 1.12 ERA! He only allowed 8 runs in 64 innings. In 2004 Smoltz saved 44 more games and had gone from a starting pitcher to saving 44 games or more in his first three seasons as a closer and it did it quite easily.
In 2005 the Braves agreed to let Smoltz start again. People were skeptical that he could still start but at the All Star break he was 9 – 5 with a 2.68 ERA. In 2006 Smoltz had a 16 – 9 record. His 16 wins tied him for most in the National League and that’s only because the Braves dreadful bullpen had blown six of his games. Smoltz was still striking out a ton of batters, third best in the National League. Smoltz has now played in the Majors for 18 years, he’s 39 years old, he started off as a successful starter, and then became a successful closer and now he’s a successful starter again. There seems to be nothing John Smoltz can’t do, he even won a Silver Slugger award in 1996.
Obviously Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are great pitchers but John Smoltz is just as good if not better. Just listen to some of the facts about John Smoltz. Smoltz has been to seven All-Star games, just one less than Maddux and three less than Glavine. Smoltz has a career ERA and WHIP lower than Glavine’s. In his postseason career John Smoltz has a career 2.65 ERA; he does even better than that, a 2.47 ERA, in his World Series career. Smoltz has 15 – 4 record in the postseason, more postseason wins than anyone in history.
John Smoltz, not Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine, holds the Braves team record for most wins in a season. John Smoltz, not Greg Maddux or Tom Glavine, holds the Braves record for most strikeouts in a season. Smoltz also holds the Braves record for most saves in a season and most saves in a career. John Smoltz has won a Cy Young Award, a Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award, a Silver Slugger Award and a NLCS MVP. John Smoltz is one of only two players, along with Dennis Eckersley, to have a 20 win season and a 50 save season in their career. He’s also one of only two players, again with Eckersley, to have 150 career wins and 150 career saves. When you’re in the same category as the greatest closer of all time, and that’s not even your number one job, you’re doing something right.
Now Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux have left Atlanta but John Smoltz remains on the team that he has played his entire Major League career for. Smoltz is the only player that remains from the 1991 team that went from last to first. John Smoltz, not Glavine or Maddux is the only one of the trio that is still a Cy Young candidate. John Smoltz is the ace of the Atlanta Braves; it’s about time somebody took notice.
