My dream would have been to play for the Detroit Tigers, but my goal was still alive. So once I got to Richmond, which is triple A, I had to get moved up because I got traded for a big leaguer. I realized, Wow, Atlanta's not very good and they could use some pitching. Hi. My name is John Smoltz, and I am golf.
Hi everybody, and welcome back to a post Super Bowl edition of Off the Beat. That's right, no more football, but it's still me, your host, Brian Baumgartner. Yeah, the Super Bowl is over. Football season is officially done, but after winter comes the spring training. Spring training guys get it here to help us ease into that magical transition from football season to baseball season. My guest today is none other than well he would call himself a hero
of mine, John Smoltz. John, of course, a first ballot Hall of Fame pitcher, eight time All Star, nineteen ninety five World Series champion, who spent twenty years on my hometown team, the Atlanta Braves. How's this for some perspective. He joined the Braves when I was in high school back in Atlanta, and he stayed with the team until two thousand and nine, which was quite a long time after I graduated from high school. Let's just put it
that way. Nowadays, John is the lead game analyst for Fox Sports MLB coverage, including eight years in a row analyzing for all of us at home the World Series. John is a renowned golfer as well make king appearances on the Champions Tour of course, a regular at the American Century Championship, and he is a two time winner of the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions. Not to mention he's a rippin accordion player. I'm gonna stay very
far away from that. So here he is Marmaduke, the guy I call Smoltzy John, Smoltz.
Bubble and squeak. I love it, Bubble and Squeakna Bubble and squeaker. Cook get every moleft over from the ninety four?
What's up, Johnny? Not a hole lot, Not a hole lot, Smoltzy, Marmaduke. Where did Marmaduke come from? I just saw that.
Marmaduke came in my first year from Dale. Murphy nicknamed me Marmaduke and put a huge bone over my locker, and it had Duke on it, and he said I reminded him of the cartoon character or caricature of Marmaduke.
I hadn't heard that one before.
Yeah, I like that.
Everybody calls you yeah multi right, that's the one that's done.
In the big leagues. If you can add a why to anybody's last name, that's usually what happens. You know, That's what everybody And to be honest with you, that was the biggest habit I had to break when I became a broadcaster because I only knew guys by their nicknames. I had to look up some guys first names because because you only know him by your nicknames and the last names, that's uh yeah, I had to do a little work on that.
Yeah, all right. I want to talk about you as the lead analyst on Fox MLB eight world series in a row. You've now called more world series that you appeared in, and you appear in a hell a lot. You grew up in Michigan a big Tigers fan, you were.
Yeah.
Your grandfather, father John, he worked for the Tigers for a long time, Is that right?
He did. He was on the ground crew for twelve thirteen years, and he worked in the press room and we went to game after game because he could get us in. We would sit in seats till somebody tapped us on the shoulder and said that those were their seats, So we moved around till somebody didn't show up. And yeah, he used to tell everybody when I was twelve, thirteen,
fourteen years old, go to the games. He goes one day, my grandson's going to play in the big leagues, and you know, I was like, Grants, hey, you know, stop. But he told everybody that came through the press room, all the general manager, owners, you know, all the people that would come through and lo and behold. You know, it ended up happening.
Who was your favorite Tiger growing up?
I would say Alan Trammel Lou Whitaker that I had number three in high schoo and Alan Trammel war number three. You know. I went to the eighty four World Series game that they won where Gibson hit the home run off of Goose Gossage. I was sitting right there. The best story of all time is that, you know, here I am. This is I don't know, you know, if I'm going to get drafted the next year, but there's a good chance I get drafted, the Tigers win it.
We're in the stands, my dad, my brother and I And for whatever reason, in Detroit when they won the World Series, the people went on the field and started ripping up the infield and started throwing the sod. So me and my brother went and got the sod and we planted it in our backyard. We have like two or three squares of the infield sod, and my dad put a tiger statue that overlooked the tiger grass. And then the next year I get drafted by the Tigers.
It didn't get drafted where I wanted to, but end up working out. I signed last day. I was going to Michigan State on Monday and Sunday, and I signed with the Tigers. So I started my quest to be with my hometown team. Now, fast forward to the trade, which wasn't setting well with everybody in the hometown, you know State. I came home that offseason and the tiger was gone and the grass had been pulled up.
My band wasn't Yeah because I got because the Tigers traded you.
Yeah. Wow?
When you when your grandfather was telling owners everybody in the press box that his grandson was going to play for the Tigers. Were you good at that time? I was, Were you playing? You were? You were playing and having some success. It wasn't crazy, No, it wasn't crazy.
But the crazy part was like, you know, how would you know that it's going to be with the Tigers. You know there's thirty teams. And when draft time came, I hadn't signed so early to go to Michigan State. I think it hurt my draft stock, and so I got drafted in the twenty second round, which in that day you just you don't go, you don't sign. You know, college is worth more. I had a fan fantastic summer. I played in the three top tournaments, Triple ABA, Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
I played in the Junior Olympics. I unfortunately lost two to one in the gold medal game to Cuba. But it was a great summer in My stop kept rising, so that's what allowed the money to get closer to first round money. And I literally did sign at the last minute, so it ended up working out in a weird way.
Yeah, I read that you were going to go to Michigan State. Was jud like, did he specifically recruit you?
Judge said that I could play both sports. You know, I could come out for basketball and then I played basketball and baseball. That was one of the things we discussed. I had probably better offers basketball wise at smaller schools in the mid Michigan area, but I was really intrigued with the opportunity to play both sports. It was one of the few times that jud Heathcote didn't have a true point guard, and I could have helped a lot.
Don't know how much I would have played because of the two sports and somewhat of a crossover, but not much. And that I kind of always think, well, what, you know, what would that have been? Like, basketball is my first love. I played. I played all the way till I was fifty one, and I think that would have been That would have been a tremendous challenge. I would have loved to see how I could have done.
Do you think you can shoot the rock better than me?
It wouldn't be It wouldn't be fair if we joke, if we went in the gym and we shot like thirty three points.
Let me let me ask you a question. Yeah, have you ever free throw line extended fifteen footers?
Yeah?
Have you ever made thirteen in a row on national television because one of us has.
I have not made thirteen in a row, my but my record is sixty six in a row.
Sixty six free throws in a row. Yes, Wow, that would be a challenge. That would that would be a change. The legs might get a little like get a little Bernie. Did you take three days? Did you shoot like twenty two and then the next day shoot twenty two six?
Yeah? Our coach, our coach had a competition every year, in every every day in high school on pre throws, and I got to sixty six? Was was the record? You know? If I were to go in a gym today, people ask me all the time, and I haven't shot much. I think I could make eighty eight to ninety out of one hundred, just.
Continuous, Okay, all right, we might have to one of these one of these events. We might have to. We might find it. Take away, we might find it. We might find it. Jim, I like that. I got to find something I can beat you and John. I do have to mention you talked about being recruited to sports Michigan State, which again was your was you're you were a fan, you were a Michigan State guy growing up, and then you got drafted. But I got to ask you because I read this nineteen eighty. It was your
senior season. You played the championship game in high school. Their heavy favorites. Now I want you to tell me the story a little bit. There was some requirements about innings. You could only pitch a certain number of innings.
No, there wasn't requirements. We were not a great baseball team. I believe I was thirteen and four, twelve and four, and we were thirteen and fourteen, Okay. So it was an invitational tournament that we got invited to, and it's the top teams in the state usually get picked. It's a Friday Monday Wednesday tournament. And so I pitched Friday against my former high school that I transferred from to political reasons. I threw a no hitter and struck out sixteen against them.
By the way, that was Lansing Catholic Central School. I did my research, go ahead.
Go ahead, and then Monday I pitched and we won. When was the championship game, I couldn't pitch, you know, it would obviously can't do Friday Monday. I mean, it wouldn't be physically smart and so the championship games on Wednesday, there's a ton of people there. We get to the third inning and there's bases loaded, nobody out, and the game is tied now. And I called my coach out, who was my basketball coach, and he was filling in for the baseball coach vacancy, and I said, let me
get out of this jam. And he goes, okay, And then what I said, well, we'll just piece it together, but let me get out of the jam. I get out of the jam. I pitched the fourth, I pitched the fifth. It's now the sixth. I'm gassed. It's now seven innings is what we played. I pitched the top of the seventh, then an extra innings in the bottom
of the eighth. I hit a walk off home run to win the championship on my last swing in my high school career, and to this day still one of the greatest moments I've ever had, other than winning the World Series for Major League Baseball. I don't like in basketball, I never talked, and in baseball, I never talked. But when I hit that home run, I was it was immediate.
I was jumping up and down at home plate, and I think at some point the empire goes Okay, now you got to run around and I ran around the bases that everybody on the other team kind of gave me five. And it was It was one of those things I wouldn't recommend, like in your senior year, pitching all those innings, but it worked out and you know we ended up winning it.
Well, I ask you about it because of your future success. I have I read that you said best on field baseball achievement.
Yeah, I mean the home run at Branded High School. But I did pitch Monday and Wednesday. I mean I did pitch Friday and Monday, complete games, and I was just thinking I could get out of the jam and then we'd figure something out. And I just said, I'll go one more, and then I'll go one more, and I'll go one more, and to hit that home run, and everybody ran on the field. I think the next day they might have pushed back exams and we had a big pep rally and it was pretty cool for
our school. We're not really we're not known for baseball.
That's awesome. You mentioned making the last minute decision to go to the hometown Tigers. You were about to report for classes at Michigan State. Was it the money? Was it that it was your hometown team? Was it you were just ready to start your professional career? Like where it came down to the end? What was what was the deciding factor?
So to tell you how many thousands of years ago it was one hundred thousand dollars was first round money back then? Okay, today obviously it's millions and good for them. But my high school are my college coach at the time, Michigan State, Tom Smith, I don't know of many other people that would have done this well. As he sat in the room and he said, is that is we want you to come to Michigan State. If you get first round money, you really need to go. You'll be ready.
And that point it was the perfect scenario. I did get first round money. It took all the way to the end to get that because you know, twenty second rounders don't get that. And I felt like I was ready and I told my dad, he was basically doing all my negotiations for me. He was a salesman by trade, and I told him, Dad, if you can get me first round money, I'll go. If not, I'm ready to go to Michigan State, and so it was a perfect balance.
I think back to my college coach at the time, I'm like, he didn't have to do that, but he knew what was best for me at the time. If that happened and it worked.
Out, you know. I like to look at sort of defining moments in your life, it specifically in your career, like do you ever go back and wonder if that was the right decision, if you were ready, or do you feel like you it was time for you to start your career.
I felt like it was the best track to get to the big leagues. You know. At that time and the way that baseball was being played, there were a lot lot of guys that played a long time, right, it was more about preparing to play long term than just what today's world is about exercising the maximum velocity and everything they can do. So it got me into the system quicker and it allowed me to navigate, and of course the trade helped big time. But I do think a lot about what would it have been like
to go play two sports and to play basketball. But ultimately that decision led to some other decisions that ultimately gave me the greatest opportunity with the Atlanta brains.
Your dad rips up the turf, he takes down the tiger because Doyle Brunson comes to Detroit and you head across the country to Atlanta. Initially, this is nineteen eighty eight. Now it's only three years in, by the way, but it is three years you spent now three years with the organization. Were you happy, could you see anything or were you just like, well, shit, I just I was traded.
I was devastated. I was so My dad was a jokester and he liked to prank and call me. He was, you know, always laughing, and I was having a miserable double a season. I think I was five and eleven and I was sitting in Glenn's Fall's Stadium and I got two notes given to me. One was call home immediately, or called my dad, and then the next was called Detroit Front Office. Well, I thought something's wrong with my dad.
So again a thousand years ago, I used the payphone in the clubhouse and I called my dad and I said, is everything okay? And he goes, You've just been traded to the Atlanta Braves. I said, Dad, it's not funny. I'm not having a good year. I promise you I'm going to come home and this is not funny. He goes, no, I just heard it. And then I looked at the other note and I went, Dad, i'mna have to call
you back. I called Detroit front office and again I'm just like my head spinning, and they said, You've been traded for Doyle Alexander to go to Richmond with the Atlanta Braves. You know, got a report and my manager was in the office and he said, what is the deal. I said, I've just been traded and I was speechless and again not thinking that somebody wanted me. I felt like my team didn't want me because I was five
and eleven, I was a top prospect. Well, when I made the fourteen hour drive, my dad called and said, you want me to come with you. I said no, no, I'm gonna do this myself. I made the fourteen hour drive, and in that drive I realized my goal was to make it to the big news. My dream would have been to play for the Detroit Tigers, but my goal was still alive. So once I got to Richmond, which was triple A, I had to get moved up because
I got traded for a big leaguer. I realized, Wow, Atlanta's not very good and they could use some pitching, and so it get kicked in right away. It gave me unbelieve opportunities and I look back and go, you know, there's no doubt. I feel like I would have made it with Detroit, but there's no doubt that this was the best route for me. And you know the rest was history.
So enter into the story. Me I am, I'm in high school. The Braves are terrible. They have been terrible. You know, I had birthday parties at Atlanta Fulton County Stadium. It was really easy to do. As you said, go just go sit wherever you want to sit, because the likelihood was no one was going to show up. Yeah, I was a huge Braves fan. You were there and eventually make the big leads and start what is one of the greatest runs in baseball history, some would say
the greatest in terms of division titles one. It all starts with that worst to first year in nineteen ninety one. I feel like, I remember remember this. When I was looking over this, this came up which I had totally forgotten, and I would have given you shit over the years, if I had remembered this, the Braves in ninety or awful ninety one end up making an improbable and historic World Series run ends up being what I believed to be is the greatest World Series of all time against
the Minnesota Twins. You started the season two and eleven, two and eleven, two and eleven. I don't know how you guys stayed in the in the hunt, and I remember that was the Dodgers, and it was it did come down to the very end. But two and eleven you saw a sports psychologist.
Yep, and you.
Finished the season twelve and two. Is this real? I feel like I remembered this.
But yeah, So I'm coming off of nineteen ninety. I had a really good year. I won fifteen games, we lost one hundred or close to it. Yeah, and we get a new gentleman manager, John Schuerholtz, and he implements a new system. And I'll be honest, I talk about it. Sit at my book. I was ticked he renewed my contract, I got no raise, and I took it personal and I changed my philosophy. I was a guy that like, I don't mind digging out of a hole I'm a grinder.
I learned from the mistakes, but I'm always going to give you my best. There's no chance, no matter what you pay me, I'm not going to give my best. Well now I'm out to show them and I'm I'm gonna win fifty games this Year's like you know what I'm saying. And I started out, I had my first child, was ready to get born. It was the perfect storm. And I start out two and eleven and it's awful, but it wasn't the worst two and eleven you've ever seen. It was just one bad inning every game.
Okay.
So I'd be pitching really good and then one bad inning and I would get frustrated and I wasn't able to control, kind of like the big inning. So John at All Star Break asked me, would you mind see him, you know, talking to the sport psychologists. So yeah, no problem, you know whatever, I mean. I'm close to getting either back in the bullpen or in the minors, and so I see the sports psychologist. Really easy was nothing. You know. What really clicked for me was he put together a
two minute film of all my best pitches. And that's all I did. I watched it before every start, and it was all my pitches, it wasn't somebody else's pitches. And I got into a bad funk mentally, and the way that I got out of it was I knew I could throw all these pitches, and I knew I could be who I was, So I just pulled it up anytime I needed to, and that was it. Now the story gets bigger and bigger and bigger as I keep winning, and I don't know what's going on in
the backdrop. I don't know that he's doing interviews and that he's wearing a red shirt and that all these things are being attributed to like this. Yeah, and so I'm a naive to it. But all I know is I'm on a roll and I can't lose the last three months of the season. I go twelve and two, and now here comes the three biggest games I'm ever going to pitch, right, And so I pitched the game that gets us into the postseason when we're two and
eleven and nine games behind the Dodgers. It doesn't take a math wizard to know that my nine games, you know, under five hundred, was a big part of that. So here comes Saturday Night. If we win that game. We're in the playoffs for the first time in forever. And that's the nine inning game where you know, Greg comes out and jumps in my arms. It wasn't the greatest nine inning game I've ever pitched. I think I give
up five runs. But back then, if you were still in command, you know Bobby was going to let you finish the game, which is great. So now we go to the postseason. By the way, my first postseason game, I have to tell this truth. They changed the game time so many times. The pitcher's nightmare and every player's nightmare is that you're going to miss first pitch or you're going to be late for the game. And I
didn't take very long to get ready. It took me twelve to fifteen minutes and warming up, and I'm sitting on the training room. I don't even have my baseball pants on. I've just got stretched the phone rings and my trainer answers it and says, yeah, okay, yeah, he's right here, all right, gotcha, hangs it up. He goes, that's your manager wanting to know where the heck you are. The game starts in fifteen minutes. Now I go in dead Pandy. I mean, I'm running, trying to get my
pants on. I'm trying to get down to the bullpen, and I'm telling myself the game's going to start. When I say it starts like I'm going to control it somehow. Twelve minutes warm up, I've raced to the to the dugout. I can get ready for first pitch. This is my first postseason game. First batter of the game gets I give up a home run. I end up winning the game. We ended up winning. And now it's Game seven. So
now I've settled my nerves a little bit. I'm in Game seven and it's in Pittsburgh, and it was a dream come true. I got to pitch nine innings to shut out. He jumps in my arms again. Now we go to Minnesota and we're gonna we're going to pull off the trifecta. I get food poisoning. I don't make it out of my hotel room for two games, three days. I don't even go to the stadium. I come home. I pitched Game four, and then of course I pitched
Game seven, and I agree with you. I think it's the greatest World Series ever played between two of the teams that get I know how the industry works, and you do. Now you do as well, and being in the industry, CBS had their head in their hands, going, this is going to be the worst watched World Series ever. Two last place teams.
Atlanta Minnesota, And it turned out it. I asked you, I was baiting you a little bit. You didn't take de bait. Jack mos you face?
Yeah?
Were you a fan?
Yeah?
Because the at this point, you're the young guy. He's the older guy. Pitched for Detroit for so many years, Like, were you a big fan of Jack's growing up?
I watched every game. I knew everything about him. Obviously we have a lot of years difference between us, and going up against him was obviously a dream. Now. He was a little bit older and curmudgeon at that time, and when they asked him about, Hey, what is it going to be like guy that grew up idolizing you pitching against you in Game seven, he goes, I don't flip and care about him or what you know. He
wanted to win the game. And we've talked about that game, you know, both being getting a chance to go in the Hall of Fame. But it was truly everything that I did as a kid, as a seven year old outside of my brick wall and Lancy, Michigan, a small home. I pissed game seven after seven, after seven against this brick wall with a strike zone tape, and and I tell people all the time, I tell him and every talk I give, I went ninety nine and one in
those games as a youngster. In game seven, because who's going to believe one hundred and oh, it doesn't sound believable, So I threw in a fluke loss. But when I got on the mound, it was everything I had dreamed about. I wasn't nervous, I was locked in, it was loud, it was in a dome, and it was on the road. But I didn't think I was going to give up a run if I went fourteen innings. And unfortunately I
didn't have the tenure that Jack did. He told his manager to get the bleep off the mound, and his manager did. I could not say that to my manager because it wouldn't have went well.
Really you wanted to go.
Oh absolutely. The scenario was first and third, one out after kind of a excuse me, hit and run, and Kirby Puckett was at the plate. Well, I'd gotten him out and I think I struck him up twice, and I knew I was going to get him out, even though he's a great player. I just felt like the matchup was best for me. And here comes my manager and I'm like, there's no way he's taking me out
against Kirby Puckett. There's a lefty in the bullpen, and I was mad and I couldn't do anything, and he took me out, brought in Mike Stanton, walked Pucket to face Herbeck and Herbck and in double play. So it ultimately worked, but in my mind, I wasn't That was the only jam the entire game. I got in, and Jack Morris got after got out of jam. After the gym, he got out of second and third, nobody out in
the eighth. I'm going to take a little blame here for us not winning, and I'll tell you why we are. I'm not superstitious, but I'm not not superstitious, like I'll do something if it's working, but I'm a little sious. So we hadn't scorn a run. And in the dome there's like fifty one steps to the clubhouse. The clubhouse was above the city above the playing field, so it didn't make sense to go up there, but I wanted
to change the environment. So after I pitched the bottom of the seventh, I sat in the same seat, saying, I'm changing seats. I'm going up and I'm gonna watch it in the clubous. Well, we got second and third nobody out, and I'm like, yes, it worked. I'm coming down and I'm gonna see the guys score and I'm gonna give them five and the game's ozer because I just need one. And I went down second and third
nobody out and we didn't score. So I feel like if I would have stayed in the clubhouse and we scored the runs, you know, and then came down, we might have won that game. But so I'll take a little blame there for changing. You know.
I just last week on the on the podcast here talk to somebody about this, and I said, with surprise, you mean if I'm watching my team and I have to go to the bathroom and they score, I was talking about football. You mean the next drive, I shouldn't go back into the bathroom. I shouldn't go back into the bathroom and watch on when they get the ball. Next because of course they'll score again, right, And if I sit there in front of the TV, They're not
going to score, right. Listen, I told me I had no control.
Listen, I'm I admit I'm a diehard. Like I'm a die hard Detroit Lions fan. And you know what happened. Ye, I must have been in five different seats and four different stances to find the one place that would have stopped this crazy momentum and that crazy game that we had in the bag. And I was going to Super Bowl. I made plans and all these things because I'm fifty
six years old. They've never been in the super Bowl. Yeah, So as I'm sitting there watching the game, and the seats hot, and then I have to find a defensive seat because that didn't get so. Yeah, I think there's a lot to that that could happen.
You know, back in the day. I don't even know if you can say this anymore. I don't care. But I had a pacific tomahawk chop followed by knocking on real wood that I did that. I feel like affected and helped you guys win, no doubt of a lot of games, if I do say so myself. No doubt ninety five. I mean just incredible world series there. I mean not just in ninety one, but against the Blue Jays and Indians in ninety five, you finally break through.
I mean, in terms of star power at that point, it's you, It's Maddox, it's Glavin by the way, I look this up, a combined forty seven and sixteen in the regular season, and you're facing Albert bell Manny Ramirez, Jim Tome, Kenny Lofton. I mean, you got speed, Eddie Murray, you got speed and power, an incredible series, and of course you finally break through and win. Talk to me just a little bit, Well, tell me what what's your face memory?
Well, that would be yeah, yeah, because we were facing I don't understand in sports sometimes we focus so much on what people haven't done. Like we were being talked about like the Buffalo Bills at the time. You know, Buffalo and gone the Super Bowl those years and that one, and this was going to be this is going to be another one for us, you know, and so there was a lot of pressure on us, and we had to go through the Colorado Rockies that year, which were loaded.
That was that unbelievable offensive team, Cincinnati Reds had a really good offensive team and in Cleveland's the best offensive team I think we've ever faced, and to beat them was certainly on the to be on the dogpile. To finally win was the greatest feeling in the world. And ironically, which was kind of like our signature, we won one nothing. We lost one nothing a bunch, and we won one nothing a bunch, and it was kind of like we didn't get a lot of runs for whatever reason, and
glad and pitched the game of his life. And I was in a tough spot because I was in line to pitch another Game seven. And when you're watching a game six like that and you're trying to mentally stay prepared that in case you don't win, you got to get ready for this, it was torture. And for that game to end and win, it was like we got to act like five year olds because that would have
been my fourth Game seven. I relished it, I loved it, but I wanted so bad for us to win it so that you know, you don't have to face another, you know, game seven like that.
It was obviously joy, but it was it also relief.
Yeah, big time. We were answering questions that were foolish. I mean, there's no doubt if you ask every player, especially the ones that were there the longest, we should have won four World Series, no doubt. Our first eight World Series losses were all by one runner. That's a play here, a hit there, pitch here, anything could go, but you lose. And so when you're in this many times we were and winning divisions as many times as we did, you would think by numbers alone we had
two or three. But it didn't work out. And in ninety six was the backbreaker. Ninety six we had the Yankees beat.
I was just going to ask, yeah, I mean, and it's the biggest disappointment.
Oh yeah, I thought like ninety three would losing. The Phillies was probably one of our best teams, and they beat us in a strange way, like bases loaded nobody out. They were getting out of jams. In ninety six, we win the first two games in Yankee Stadium by like some stupid combined number. I win my game like twelve to one against Andy Pettitt. We go home and the headlines of our paper was Braves better than twenty seven Yankees? Why play this out like what what? And so the
game just just the whole momentum switch. We had a six to nothing lead, we blew it, lost it next innings, and then again I lose my game, won to nothing to Andy Pettitt on an unearned run, and that, basically, you know, was the series, and they went on to win four out of five Yankees. Did I believe that would have been our four out of five? We would have been back to back champs. We wouldn't have traded David Justice and Marcis Grissom and all those trades that
came afterwards. It changed the course of really ar trajectory. And you know, it was basically because we just didn't get it done.
You're the only pitcher in Major League history with two hundred wins and one hundred and fifty saves. In two thousand and one, because of energy injuries, you moved to the bullpen. Was it difficult transition?
Really hard? I don't want to say it pissed, no, because at the time yes and no. The no part was it was my suggestion when I came back as a starter at Tommy John. It didn't work out. My obo I got ten and itis and I had to miss like a month and a half of time we were going to be in the playoffs. So I told my manager. I said, I'm going to go to the minor leagues and learn how to pitch out of the pen so I can help you down the stretch. He goes, no, I'll wait for you to start. And I'm like, Bobby,
there's just not enough time. I've missed too much time. So I go down. Nobody knows what to expect, and I mean, I get locked in. I'm throwing ninety eight, ninety nine, and I know what I'm able to do, but nobody else says it's it's the minor leagues, you know. And so I come up. Tell me. I tell him I'm ready. Bobby goes, I'll get you in as soon as I can. You know, I'll find a spot for you. It's like an eight to nine run game. It's an insignificant game. I come out of the pen and I
remember the place going crazy. I strike out the side or something. I'm throwing ninety eight and everybody's like WHOA. So I'm pitching the seventh in the eighth because Carson was closer, and eventually the last month I became the closer, I'm throwing the ball good, nine to eleven happens, so baseball gets shut down for a while. Our first game back was against the Mets, and I'm in the bullpen getting ready to pitch.
In New York.
In New York, when Piazza hits that home run, that really just I mean, it's the first time in my professional career I was actually happy for the other team and not mad that we lost because of the circumstances. So I finished that year, never really got to pitch significant games in the postseason. They didn't get to me much. So I think in the offseason, I'm going to go
back to starting. Well, our general manager had other plans, and it kind of shocked me that the plans he had was if I'm going to come back, because I'm a free agent now, if I'm going to come back to the Atlanta Braids, I'm going to come back as the closer. And I was like what, And in my mind I know what that meant. It's like, well, it's a pay cut. He's good, I'm gonna get a pay cut. And so I desperately wanted to play my whole career with Atlanta. I wanted to play for Bobby Cox. So
we worked out a deal. Last minute. I turned down you know, other deals with other clubs. So I became a closer, and I'm going to learn basically on the job, because all I did was like a month and change before. Long story short, I have three surgeries on my phone. They thought they were going to have to take off my thumb nail, but I ended up having to learn how to hold the baseball completely different. Not a good
plan to become your first time closer. And I only got six innings in spring training due to the injury. I was not ready, but I had to fake it until I was ready. I gave up a bunch of runs in my first couple of games. People started questioning whether it was gonna work or not. My general manager was questioning whether I sho play golf or not. All these things were going on. Meanwhile, I knew it was just a matter of time once I got the reps. Played a ton of golf, by the way, because I
told them it's not going to be a problem. And that year I got fifty five saves. It was going to be that meant you know, now I'm in the closer, There's no chance of returning back to the starting rotation. So that's the story that nobody knows. And then what happened is I go three years as closer. I mean I saved a lot of games in a three year period. They used me a ton. I got two more elbow injuries out of it, but we never won a postseason series.
So when it came to the time where the gentle manager, same gentle manager says, what do you think makes us better? I'm now three years removed, I said, me as a starter. I said, no disrespect to Mariano Rivera, he's the best we've ever had. But they got to him. They got to him, that's why they won championships. I said, I'm just not being able to be used at that time as a starter. At least I can effectively. So that's the story. I went back to starting. Everyone said I
was crazy, dumbest thing I've ever done. I made the All Star team, led the team in innings, and you know, in a strange way, that led me to the Hall of Fame. That wasn't my path. I didn't want to. I didn't try to do something different to get there. I wanted to win a championship. So bad that whatever it took, I was willing to do it, and it
was the hardest thing. It's not like it's not quite like playing right handed golfing and turnaround playing left handed, but it is totally opposite of personalities and physical There's so much difference between the two. I had to learn. I had to learn on the job.
Well, you know, I mean this is from you know, an ignorance perspective, but I mean it feels to me, it's always felt to me so impressive because it feels like being an All star Hall of Fame marathon runner and then a sprinter. Yeah, like that's what it feels. That's what it feels like. The difference would be, you know, it is everything in.
Yeah, I tell people all the time, like I was more exhausted the year I got fifty five saves than when I threw two hundred and fifty six innings in the regular season, not counting the forty in the postseason. That's that's the marathon. You're training once every five days to pitch, whereas as a closer, you could be in four in a row, five in a row, three out of four. I liked being able to affect the income I'll come a little bit more. But I tell people, if I got in my car and drove to work,
the same were out every single day, that's starting. If I got in a race car NASCAR and went one hundred and ninety miles an hour and took different routes every day, that's closing. To put it in perspective. I got interviewed thirty six times when I was a starter. As a closer, I was in seventy eight games, and I got interviewed four times, and those were the four games that I blew. They don't interview you when you're successful.
They interview you when you blow a saying. So that's the difference.
You played twenty years twenty one years for the Braves, do you regret the year you left?
I do in this regard. It was workable and it was out of my control. I wanted very bad. There was a change of guard in the general manager. Looking back, I understand they didn't really want me to go to spring training with Tom Lavin to compete for a spot, and I'm coming off of major shoulder surgery and I get all of that, but the way it went down was very disappointing to me because there were some inaccuracies that were being said about why I left, and they
were not even close to true. And so Boston gave me an incredible opportunity to pitch, and so they valued what I could do in the second half. It worked awful for me. If I had one you do in life. I was very in tune with my body. I worked my tail off to rehab at an incredible record rate to come back from the shoulder surgery. I have nine anchors in my shoulder, and you just can't really pitch with nine anchors. But I listened to their protocol versus
my own, and it went really bad. I didn't pitch well. That's a great organization. Their fan base is unbelievable. I wanted so bad to do well for them. I end up getting released and picked up by the Cardinals. It was a great landing for me, a great end of my career, classy organization, and they gave me an opportunity to pitch relief, and ironically, I set a franchise record the first game I pitched for them, most strikeouts in a row ever by a starter, which I don't even
understand how that's possible. With the pitching they've had so in the end, it was a great end of my career because I got back on the field. But I wanted so bad to play my entire career for the Atlanta Braves. I'll always be in Atlanta Breve, but those other two organizations gave me a chance to get back on the field and walk away.
In my own terms, that's awesome. First ballot Hall of Famer in twenty fifteen. I mean, look, I know how much that means for you. Do you feel like the whole crew that you have there, the fact that you all, Tommy, Glavin and Maddox have It's weird because pitchers in baseball are seen as such singular and the three of you so tied together through all of that success in Atlanta. Obviously Greg coming a little bit later. Does that make it more special? Is that irrelevant to you?
No? I think it's special in this regard. We didn't talk about anything while we were playing, meaning we didn't talk about the run we were on, how long all of us get into the Hall of Fame. We never said anything. And the fact that it worked out the way it did mine in my own year and those guys obviously connected, this is the way I viewed it, they were the two best pitchers I've ever played with, of course, and their Hall of famers, and they were
they won three hundred games. I was the guy with all the potential and all the stuff, and I was supposed to win Cy youngs. I was the guy with a lot of the injuries and the surgeries and always, you know, my time came in the postseason. But what makes it pretty cool for us is that, you know, I just played one more year than they did. You know, we didn't talk about, hey, let's all go in together. Yeah, you know, and the fact that that when we look back,
we know it'll never be replicated. For a lot of reasons, we had a blast. And I was fifteen years with Glad and ten with the three of them, and we played a ton of golf, and I learned a lot from each of them. But I was so much different than those guys. And the fact that we could pick each other's brains and we could all have our moments. Ninety six, I finally had mine for a Cy Young
glab one his and of course Greg won four. It just was it was fun to check your ego when you came to the park, because you got a chance to see a great game and be embarrassed if you want to be the guy. And you know, indirectly, we kind of had this little inner competition that we never talked about. If Tommy went out and threw nine innings and gave up two runs and five hits, Greg would intuitively want to go nine innings to give up one run, and then if he did, I don't want to go
nine and give up zero. And we felt that a no hitter would reset the clock. But we never know. None of us ever threw a no hitter, which is pretty amazing with all the games that we pitch. And I feel like it's gonna sound like solar grapes, but I got robbed. There's no doubt about it. You can check the archives. It was in San Diego, and I'm going to give you this sat after we're done. But Tony Gwinn, Tony.
Gwynn gave me Maddox, Glavin, Pedro Martinez fits. Okay, he gave everybody fits. It's the eighth inning, two outs and there's no hits. I got him in San Diego and I'm cruising and I know I got I think like twelve strikeouts.
I know if I get Tony gwinn out, I'm gonna get no hitter. He hits a fly ball to left field and it's still one of the greatest lines Skip Carry's ever said. Ryan Plusko was playing left field at the time because he was the first baseman converted over the left field. Yeah, and he ran about fifteen to twenty feet and got to the track and the ball hit the glove and it dropped. Now I know it's an air, and everybody probably knows it's an error, except
for the official scorer who gave it a double. As a place the fans go crazy, and I inside, I want to I want to explode, right. So I'm trying to convince Bobby Cox let me go up for the night. They have to change it. There's no way if I don't give up on the hit. They got to change. He goes John, I've been doing this a long time. That man over there, Tony Gwynn, they are not going to change it for him. And so I went in the clubhouse. I saw these stools that we all have
in front of our locker, and I went crazy. I broke about seven of them. Not proud of it, but I felt like they were laughing at me, you know, like they were like, ha ha ha, right, and that's kind of my no hitter, But you'll never find it because it's not documented. And Skip Carrey had this line because you know here in skip carry goes, Ryan's running the right routes, we just can't get the ball to him.
Had Ryan just had a hard time playing left field because he really was a first baseman, but we needed as bad. And so the stat I'm going to give you which blows people's mind, we faced Tony Gwynn three hundred and twenty three times, the four of us, all four of us are in the Hall of Fame. How many times do you think we struck him out?
Thirty four?
Three times?
That's impossible.
I got him once. That's exactly right. That's the difference of that time frame. And Tony Gwynn, in his greatness Pedro, one of the nastiest of all time starters, did not strike him out. Maddox did not strike him out. I got him once and Gladn got him twice. He hit four forty four off of me lifetime, I think four point fifty seven or something off of Maddox high off of Pedro, and I think Glady was in the three hundreds.
I'm telling you, he was unbelievable. And so when I saw him every time at a card show and he had this high pitched kind of laugh and chuckle, and I'd go, really, Tony three thousand, some hundred minus one hit, you think that was a hit? You know, I couldn't let it go, and he just would laugh.
Tiger Woods has gone on record to say that you, John Smoltz is the best non PGA golfer that he has ever played with. I want for the record to state I have never played with Tiger so and.
There's and that's the thing about that statement. One it crushes my handicap from that point on, like nobody would give me strokes anymore. Like the matter well my handicap. But in fairness, I don't know how many NONPGA players Tiger ever played with. Okay, he's played with a few. He's he didn't play with you, so you can't you can't base it on that. But I did get a chance to have the time of my life for about ten years playing over thirty five rounds of golf with
Tiger in his day. And it is still memories that I'll never forget shots, I'll never forget moments, I'll never forget, you know. I mean, he has gears like we all know. He had gears that you just know. One I brought to play with Tiger could help themselves, but they all got sucked into talking trash with him. And you don't do that. You don't talk trash to Michael Jordan, and you don't talk trash to Tiger Woods. It just puts them in another gear. And I would tell him, I say,
let him be. He might only shoot sixty eight. Let him be, don't get him to where he wants to shoot, you.
Know, sixty two too exactly.
And we had this one. We had this one match. It's the only time I did it, and I didn't really do it on purpose. But we're on a par three. There's five of us, my buddy who was a twelve, and then everyone else was a scratch. And my buddy got a hold in one on the par three, and the scorecard read one, two, three, four five. There's five players,
five different scores. And so when I picked the ball out of the hole, and my buddy's name is Scott, I said, Scott, what is more believable when we get back home, the fact that you made a hole in one or beat Tiger by four on one pump.
I knew that was coming, so.
He kind of shot me a finger and he went in the next twenty two homes because we played twenty seven he went twelve under par, and it was the greatest display of golf. Like I put up the antennas and indirectly I thought it was a brilliant line. And as he went crazy after that, and I didn't listen to my own advice.
John is well, he's always in contention at any celebrity golf event played on the Champions Tour. A couple of times come painfully close at the American Century Championship in Lake Tahoe, A couple of times two time winner at the Tournament of Champions Hilton Grand Vacations. Is that correct? Two times?
Can I can? I? Can I file a small complaint on that? Which was the two time winners. I was defending champ and they switched horses. I mean, so the three peak could not happen. I think it was done on purpose. I can't. I can't be for sure, but I have not played well since.
Well well, but I I saw you in the locker room on Sunday a couple just a couple of weeks ago. You shot sixty nine. Is that right?
Yes? I did. But but but I played so bad the first day, like I didn't even know that. I didn't realize that I was a golfer after the first day.
Did I saw more points you the first day?
I tell you what. I kept looking at a scoreboard and you were darn close, and I said, if I don't get one more point than you, I might withdraw. Not because one point I ended up being a couple of points. But I kept looking and I kept saying, oh my goodness.
I played pretty well. Now first day you did. Let me ask you this though, You're a two time champion Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament Champions, Orlando, Florida. But I am a two time first player chosen for the pro am, which makes me believe I'm the people's champion. What's better winning the event or being chosen first? It's a good question.
It is a great question, and honestly, because of my lack of social media presence, I feel like you have an unfair advantage there, and so you are the people's choice. There's no doubt. I only get selected because of my golfing ability. You get selected because you have the combination of so many other things that they'll put up with the fact that maybe they're not going to win the proram right right. They're looking for a good time.
They certainly are risingly enough.
Most people who play with me come away going I didn't realize is that funny? Like I'm actually a really funny guy that doesn't get a chance to showcase it on the stage that you do. Although I did you know I do have a role in The Hill. I don't know if you saw it. It's the number one movie on Netflix, and I've got like a thirty five.
Le that's very good. I do want to I do want to make a clarification. You do have jokes. I don't don't know if it's funny. I don't know if it was there. Its just a small.
My delivery, maybe somebody else's hands. In somebody else's hands, that joke is funny.
Hey, listen, you help me with my golf game, I'll help you, uh with the delivery. Uh. Eight years, As I mentioned at the top, being the the number one analyst on Fox Sports for their MLB coverage, calling the World Series that special for you? Do you love that I do?
And and and really, when I got into broadcasting, oh, my agent, I said, I'm not just doing this to do it. I'm doing it because I want to get to the highest level. I want to do it at the highest level, and so I worked for a long time to get to that point. My opportunity was presented. I work with one of the greatest all time and Joe Buck. I work for a great company, and I get to see baseball that I still love at the
best time, and that's in October. I do regular season games, but the all time best is when I get to see players playing the postseason. Everyone who's a fan thinks they know the sport and they're fans of the sport. But when you've kind of been in that and done that, you can give people something that they would never maybe know before. And that's really my only goal when I'm broadcasting, is to bring in some insights that people made that never have gotten a chance to know.
I love the game of baseball. You and I have talked about it a lot. I've always loved the game of baseball, and to me, what is so special and so unique about the analysts' role specific in baseball is
I mean, what is it. It's got to be you know, five thousand ish games a year, five to six thousand games a year over one hundred years, and I'm telling you the number of games, particularly when the games are meaningful, that something happens that I've never seen before or that anyone has ever seen before, makes it, you know, incredibly special.
Yeah, it's crazy to think, like again, just my I mean this is going on now forty plus years that well I've played longer than that, but in the game of baseball professionally since the age of eighteen to fifty six, you're right. I mean, you think you've seen it, and you think that you know pretty much every rule, and then something stumps you to go, well, I didn't even know that you could do that, or that's somebody. Look, the talent's never been greater. And now we get the
game moving again. You know, changes drove everybody crazy thinking that the game was like what's going on? But the game's moving again, and the time of the game is going to be more pallable for people, and the athletes get to adjust and they're going to be fine this year.
Yeah, I feel like it's it's almost an annual text and I guess it. I don't know, Well, you tell me if it's just like annoying or something. But I feel like I text you after the World Series every year and I say, what is what is true that I don't There's not a lot of people that I send this message to, even those that I have the number. I think you do just a hell of a job. I really do, John. I feel like you add so much to the entertainment of sports during those postseason games.
I mean it when I text it to you, I only do it once a year, but you know, it's coming off the World Series and just going you know what, like he just made those two and a half to three hours really fun and informative and enjoyable and full of drama. So yeah, I congratulations.
I appreciate that I had to learn, Like in this industry, you wouldn't believe. I mean you would believe from the social media standpoints, which I don't have anything to combat people with, but they're so used. People in baseball are used to their home broadcast booth right and listen to them, and then come postseasons like John Smoltz, he's the Rangers. John Smoltz hates the Arizona Diamondbacks, Joe Davis hates the
Atlanta Braids. And the best advice Joe Buck gave me is he goes, look, a fifty percent of the fan base think you're rooting for the other team. You're doing a pretty good job, but don't pay attention to that because they don't understand that. When you call a home run, which I don't, they do for the opposite team, the home fans get mad. They're like, why are they so happy? But we're in the national broadcast, coming in to be
completely neutral. And I got more flag for calling the Atlanta Braids World Series against the Houston Astros, and everyone knows I'm in Atlanta Braids And that was the hardest job that I had to do to because I'm going to be neutral and do my job. There were fans of Atlanta said they were mad at me because I wasn't rooting hard enough for the Atlanta Braves to win the World Series. And I finally said on the radio, I said, what most people don't understand is my words
I can speak into action. What's going to happen so that they I'm like, people can't beat that. They really can't be that, and so that's just the nature nature of what we do.
Yeah, I have seen those. Gosh, there was something on the speaking of the social media with Joe Buck the opposing fans talking about how much Joe Buck. You know, Joe Buck loves the Cowboys. Joe Buck hat'ess the Cowboys. Joe Buck loves the Packers. Joe Buck hat's the Packers.
It's unbelievable.
I'm hoping Joe Davis helps the Dodgers this year, by the way, Yeah, any team compete with the Dodgers this year.
Not in the regular season, they really I mean, I think everybody knew. I think baseball people are like, show, hey, Tommy's going to the Dodgers. Okay, just a matter of how long, how much. I think people kind of you know, would have been shocked if that didn't happen. But what they've done aside from that is blowing everybody's mind because now, you know, the Dodgers have been the class of the last ten years, and they've been kind of falling victim to what we did. They should have won a couple
of World Series. They didn't. Yeah, some strategy that you know might have got questioned and might have been a reason. But they're loaded. And so what it's always come down to. Last year they were beat up in their rotation and the Diamondbacks shocked the world by sweeping them. And I think it comes down to the same thing. You know, if they're not beat up at the end of the year, there's no doubt they're the favorites. And you know, the Atlanta Braids are going to be right there in the Phillies,
some of the same teams. But boy, oh boy, oh boy, did the Dodgers. They got a ton of pressure on them. And I've said this from day one. If you're a player, you want that pressure. You do you just know you're really good and everyone's going to give you your best shot and you're the favorites. Let's go get it and that that's you take it and that and certainly for this contract was not about one championship. This contract's about multiple. I think to validate this contract, a lot of people
will say the Dodgers win two World Series. Man, that would be unbelievable. It's hard to win one. They should win one, and they're probably the favorite to win one over the next seven years. But the beauty about baseball is it's a long year and the postseason teams get hot at the right time and you can run into that team.
Yeah, I was thinking about this. I'll close on this because you know, I get a lot of flat I mean, and that's saying it nicely from my friends in Atlanta, many of whom who are still there, who get on my case about being a Dodgers fan. But you know, I've told I've said this many times. It's because I love the game of baseball, and I knew when I came out to Southern California, I wasn't ever going back, and I wanted to be able to watch and the way to do that was to go to Javez Ravine
and I bought in. But I was thinking about this talking to you today. John Smoltz did it. John Smoltz was a Tiger and now he's a Brave. So anyone can change, including me. Boom, Well, suck it.
I mean, I think you're trying to set it. You're trying to you're trying to ease the paint. It's a little different if you were if you were part of the office and then you went to go be sign felled and then you were like, you know, it's a little different when you're a fan and when you're from the area.
Just stop it, John, It's.
It's a harder justification.
No, it's not. It's because I love the game. The game.
Here's what I would say to you. I would say to you, you're justified in this this regard. I become a Falcon fan when my Lions are in it because I live in Atlanta. You are a Dodger fan because you live in it in the in LA. But if they play Atlanta, you're meeting some crossroads there.
Yeah, but I don't anymore. I'm too invested tickets that season tickets. It's like, I can't, John, You're not helping me because I was going to tell them all to listen to this. And now, let me just say this, if you or Tommy or Greg, if you got if any of you strapped it back on, put on the old jockstrap and put in the cup and did you work up by the way.
I did, I'm I'm shocked. And a lot of pictures that didn't. There wasn't a game I'm never wore. That's just crazy. Talk.
I just was talking to somebody about this.
There's a ton of people that they don't wear them. That's crazy. It is beyond crazy. But anyway, so good.
Anyway, if you do it, if you strap it on, strap it on and stick it in, John, I would root for you or Tommy or Greg as long as you weren't as long as you as long as you didn't come back as a giant. Otherwise I would root for you. Guys.
Okay, now, how long how long have you have you been.
In La Well? I mean I like to make people think that I'm still twenty nine, but it's been. It's been. It's been twenty years, you know, so let me put it this way.
It longer than Atlanta.
Oh yeah, oh wait, I mean there was a there was a period of time there where I was, you know, when I left I left Atlanta, when I left when I graduated from high school, which oddly enough was ninety one, but I was. TBS made me be able to watch every game. I mean, there was that period time before the MLB package and after the Braves started being off TV, Like I couldn't even watch the Braves.
No, you're fine, now, you've lived longer you're fine, You're justified.
The first couple of years, I actually met Bobby at I'll tell you what your your Your hotel was the Something Huntington, the Ritz Carlton Huntington over there in Pasadena. I met Bobby there and I think Chipper was there who I met out in at the American Century a couple of times. That was tough. That was tough for me. Now that Stan Caston is it's almost it's almost like we're connected, me and Stan over at the Dodgers.
I'm telling you, it is going to be a fun year. I will do a lot of Dodgers games, as you can imagine. For Fox, they're going to have eyeballs on them all the time. They're going to have to play a lot of ESPN game that will be Network Fox games.
And what I find interesting more than anything because I love shoheo Tommy and I've been rooting for him to be a two way success Starnar forever, but I don't like the fact that is now it's the second Tommy John and I think he's such a tremendous talent, but his velocity and force that he throws the ball, it'll be interesting to see how many years they get out of a two way player. You know, They'm sure they're hoping this contract will live up to and they're going
to monetize it and make so much money. I get it, like I get all that. It's the other move they made that were just as good. It's hard to say it could be better than getting the greatest player in the game.
Yeah, John, It's always a pleasure. I know. I will see you here. No, you're not. No. I still have to work for a living, so I can't. I can't just play golf, so I will not be in down, which is unfortunate.
That is that is that's bummed me out. What's the what's the end game goal for cameos for you? You've got the record, right.
Like John, John John John Smoltz. Uh, I'll see you. Uh, I'll see you in the what is it the north, the top of the West. I'll see you out in Lake Tahoe very soon. Day one. Just watch that leaderboard for me. I'm a sprinter.
I'm as you are the greatest motivator for me when I'm having one of the worst rounds of like you, you don't know what you did for me Seeing that score and going is that? Is that real? We got to get a few.
More John Smolts, thank you so much, pictures and catchers reporting. Let's start the baseball season. Go Dodgers.
That's right, Thank you.
John. Great talking to you today. Thanks so much for being on here. I hope I didn't take you away from the golf course too early today. I am looking forward to seeing and listening to you on television this summer and fall, and of course on the golf course this season. Listeners, thanks for doing what you do listening, namely, thank you for listening. That's what I'm trying to say. I'm going to be back next week with another episode of Off the Beat. Won't you come along? I hope
you do. I'll see you here. Until then, everybody, have a great week. Off the Beat is hosted and executive produced by me Brian Baumgartner, alongside our executive producer Linglee. Our senior producer is Diego Tapia. Our producers are Liz Hayes, Hannah Harris, and Emily Carr. Our talent producer is Ryan Papa Zachary, and our intern is Ali Amir Sahed. Our theme song, Bubble and Squeak performed by the one and only Creed Bratton,