John Smoltz

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards 3 Achievements 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967 in Detroit, MI), was a failed reclamation project signed by Theo Epstein in the 2008 off-season. Prior to signing with Boston, Smoltz was part of the famed Braves rotation of the 1990s, compiling a career record (so far) of 210-147. Before the Braves, he was in the Tigers organization and was traded to Atlanta in 1987 for Doyle Alexander. He enjoyed success along with Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux until 2000 when he suffered an injury that warranted Tommy John Surgery. He was able to resurrect his career however, by returning as Atlanta's closer in 2002. He set the record for most saves in one season that year. He closed for Atlanta until 2005, when he returned to Atlanta's starting rotation. (It is argued that this was due to his inability to contribute as a starter in the previous year's playoffs. See 1.)

Awards

• 1992 NLCS MVP
• 1996 National League Cy Young
• 1996 National League TSN Pitcher of the Year
• 1997 National League Silver Slugger Award - Pitcher (.228/.307/.266)
• 2002 National League Rolaids Relief
• 2005 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
• 2005 Roberto Clemente Award
• 2007 Branch Rickey Award
• 8-time National League All-Star (1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007)

Achievements

• Most saves in single season, NL (55 in 2002; matched by Eric Gagne in 2003)
• Only pitcher with 150 saves and 200 wins
• 2-time wins leader (1996, 2006)
• 2-time W/L % leader (1996, 1998)
• NL Saves leader (55 in 2002)
• 2-time strikeout leader (1992, 1996)
• 2-time IP leader (1996, 1997)
• 3-time wild pitches leader (1990, 1991, 1992)
• 200 Strikeouts Seasons: 5 (1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2006)
• 15 wins seasons: 5 (1992, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2006)
• 20 wins seasons: 1 (1996)

Trivia

• Pitches: 4-seam fastball, slider, split-finger fastball, curveball, changeup (experimented with knuckleball in 1999)
• Won a World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 1995
• Smoltz is a born-again Christian.
• Often golfs with Tiger Woods.
• He and Dennis Eckersley are the only pitchers to have obtained a 20-win season and a 50-save season over the course of their careers.

Transactions

• June 3, 1985: Drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 22nd round of the 1985 amateur draft. Player signed September 22, 1985.
• August 12, 1987: Traded by the Detroit Tigers to the Atlanta Braves for Doyle Alexander.
• October 31, 1996: Granted Free Agency.
• November 20, 1996: Signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.
• November 5, 2001: Granted Free Agency.
• December 4, 2001: Signed as a Free Agent with the Atlanta Braves.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• John Smoltz - Courtesy of Wikipedia