John Smoltz (Baseball Player) – Overview, Biography

Name:John Smoltz
Occupation: Baseball Player
Gender:Male
Birth Day: May 15,
1967
Age: 53
Birth Place: Warren,
United States
Zodiac Sign:Taurus

John Smoltz

John Smoltz was born on May 15, 1967 in Warren, United States (53 years old). John Smoltz is a Baseball Player, zodiac sign: Taurus. Nationality: United States. Approx. Net Worth: $60 Million. @ plays for the team .

Trivia

Tiger Woods called him the best non-PGA golfer he ever played with.

Net Worth 2020

$60 Million
Find out more about John Smoltz net worth here.

Physique

HeightWeightHair ColourEye ColourBlood TypeTattoo(s)
N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Before Fame

He was an All-State basketball player at Waverly High School.

Biography

Biography Timeline

1987

Smoltz played initially for the Class A Lakeland Tigers minor-league team, and then moved on to the Class AA Glens Falls Tigers in 1987, posting records of 7–8 and 4–10. In 1987, the Tigers were in a three-team race, chasing the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East division lead; in need of pitching help, Detroit sent their 20-year-old prospect to the Braves for 36-year-old veteran Doyle Alexander on August 12. While Alexander did help the Tigers overtake the Blue Jays for the division title, going 9-0 down the stretch, he was out of baseball by 1989. Smoltz, on the other hand, became one of the cornerstones of the Braves franchise for the next two decades.

1988

Smoltz made his major league debut on July 23, 1988. He posted poor statistics in a dozen starts, but in 1989 Smoltz blossomed. In 29 starts, he recorded a 12–11 record and 2.94 ERA while pitching 208 innings, and was named to the NL All-Star team. Teammate Tom Glavine also had his first good year in 1989, raising optimism about the future of Atlanta’s pitching staff.

1993

Before the 1993 season, the Braves signed renowned control pitcher Greg Maddux, completing – along with Smoltz and Glavine – what many consider to be the most accomplished starting trio ever assembled on a single major-league team. Smoltz again won 15 games, but suffered his first postseason loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLCS despite not allowing an earned run.

1995

Smoltz had a 6–10 record in the strike-shortened 1994 season, and during the break, had bone chips removed from his elbow. Returning as the Braves’ No. 3 starter, he posted a 12–7 record in 1995. Ironically, the year the Braves won their one World Series title in their long run of division titles was the one year Smoltz had shaky postseason numbers. He did avoid being tagged with any losses despite a 6.60 ERA, but his Game 3 start in that World Series was his only poor World Series start in his career, getting knocked out in the third inning. But Smoltz and the Braves won the franchise’s only World Series in Atlanta, thanks in great part to Maddux and Glavine, who had begun to overshadow Smoltz. Smoltz would have been the Game 7 starter had the series gone that far.

1997

The next season, 1996, was the best of Smoltz’s career. He went 24–8 with a 2.94 ERA and 276 strikeouts, including winning a franchise-record 14 straight decisions from April 9 to June 19. He continued to pitch brilliantly in the post-season, winning a game in the Division Series, two more in the League Championship Series, and somehow ending up only 1-1 in the World Series despite a 0.64 ERA, losing Game 5 1-0 on an unearned run. He won the NL Cy Young Award with 26 of the 28 first-place votes. Smoltz’s effectiveness in 1997 was only slightly less than his Cy Young season, but frugal run support limited him to a 15–12 record. Smoltz also received a Silver Slugger Award for his batting.

1998

Smoltz continued to post excellent statistics in 1998 and 1999, but he was spending significant time on the disabled list and missed about a quarter of his starts. In 1999, Smoltz began experimenting with both a knuckleball and a three-quarters delivery, though he rarely used either in game situations.

1999

Over his career, Smoltz threw a four-seam fastball that was clocked as high as 98 miles per hour, a strong, effective slider and an 88–91 mph split-finger fastball that he used as a strikeout pitch. He also used a curveball and change-up on occasion, and in 1999, he began experimenting with both a knuckleball and a screwball, though he rarely used either in game situations. He admitted in 2016 that he never learned to throw sliders until he reached the MLB, nor does he recommend children to throw sliders.

2001

He underwent Tommy John surgery before the 2000 season, and missed the entire year. When he was unable to perform effectively as a starter in 2001, Smoltz made a transition to the bullpen, filling a void as Atlanta’s new closer down the stretch, replacing John Rocker.

2002

In 2002, his first full season as a closer, Smoltz set a National League record with 55 saves, topping the previous mark of 53 shared by Randy Myers (1993) and Trevor Hoffman (1998). Smoltz finished third in the Cy Young Award voting; Éric Gagné equaled his record a year later with the Dodgers. Injuries limited Smoltz slightly in 2003, but he still recorded 45 saves with a 1.12 ERA in 64⅓ innings pitched. In 2004, Smoltz finished with 44 saves, but was frustrated with his inability to make an impact as a closer during another Braves’ postseason loss. That year, he broke Gene Garber’s franchise record of 141 career saves; his final total of 154 saves was eventually surpassed by Craig Kimbrel in 2014.

2004

In a 2004 interview, Smoltz was quoted as comparing the legalization of gay marriage with bestiality, saying “What’s next? Marrying an animal?” per the Associated Press. Smoltz later stated the article had portrayed his quote inaccurately.

2005

Smoltz finished 2005 at 14–7, with a 3.06 ERA and 169 strikeouts while allowing less than one hit per inning. Smoltz had answered the critics who doubted he would be able to reach the 200-inning plateau after three years in the bullpen. Nonetheless, Smoltz’s increased workload caused him to wear down toward the end of the season.

2006

In 2006, Smoltz finished the season with a record of 16–9, an ERA of 3.49, and 211 strikeouts. He was one of four pitchers tied for the NL lead in wins, and was third in strikeouts. He pitched more than well enough for a 20-win season, but the Braves’ bullpen blew six of his leads, on their way to being the single-handed cause of the end of the team’s playoff appearance streak. The number of blown saves alone by the Braves’ bullpen was greater than the number of games out of first place the team finished.

On September 21, 2006, the Braves announced they had picked up Smoltz’s $8 million contract option for the 2007 season. On April 26, 2007, Smoltz agreed to a contract extension with the Braves. The extension includes a $14 million salary for the 2008 season, a $12 million vesting option for 2009 dependent on his ability to pitch 200 innings in 2008 and a $12 or $13 million team option for 2010 dependent on his ability to pitch 200 innings in 2009.

2007

2007 was a year of reunions and milestones for Smoltz. On May 9, he faced Maddux for the first time since July 10, 1992. Smoltz earned a win in a 3–2 victory over the San Diego Padres; Maddux received no decision. On May 24, exactly 11 years to the day after recording his 100th win, Smoltz recorded his 200th win against Glavine. He faced Glavine three other times, faring 3–1 overall against him. On June 27, Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux each recorded wins on the same day. On August 19, Smoltz set the Braves strikeout record by striking out the Arizona Diamondbacks’ Mark Reynolds. It was his 2,913th strikeout, passing Phil Niekro on the club’ all-time list; he struck out a season-high 12 in the game. He finished the year 14–8 with a 3.11 ERA and 197 strikeouts. The stalwart pitcher was the only holdover on the Braves roster from their 1991 worst-to-first season until Glavine returned to the Braves after an absence of several years following the 2007 season.

Smoltz met his first wife Dyan Struble at the Omni Hotel in downtown Atlanta; the couple had four children before divorcing in 2007 after 16 years of marriage. Smoltz lives in Alpharetta, Georgia and also has a home at Sea Island, a golf resort. On May 16, 2009, Smoltz married Kathryn Darden at his home with 70 friends and family in attendance. Smoltz is a Christian.

2008

On April 22, 2008, Smoltz became the 16th pitcher in major-league history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts, and the fourth pitcher to strike out 3,000 batters for one team, joining Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson and Steve Carlton.

On April 28, 2008, Smoltz was placed on the 15-day disabled list due to an inflamed right shoulder.

On May 1, 2008, Smoltz indicated that he intended to return to being a relief pitcher. After coming off the disabled list on June 2, 2008, he blew his first save opportunity in three years. Two days later, the Braves placed him back on the disabled list. Smoltz underwent season-ending shoulder surgery on June 10, 2008. His contract expired at the end of the season, and the contract offer from the Braves was not sufficient to keep him.

In December 2008, several members of the Boston Red Sox organization, including pitching coach John Farrell, vice president of player personnel Ben Cherington and assistant trainer Mike Reinold, flew to Atlanta to participate in a 90-minute workout with Smoltz. Throwing for only the second time since having surgery on a torn labrum in his pitching shoulder, he threw a 50-pitch side session and showcased not only his tremendous progress since the surgery, but an arsenal of well-developed pitches which made him so successful throughout his career. He impressed the Red Sox enough during the workout that less than a month later, a one-year contract was offered by the organization.

In 2008 and 2010, Smoltz served as a color analyst alongside Joe Simpson for Braves games on Peachtree TV. Nationally, Smoltz has been an analyst for MLB Network and called regular-season and postseason games for TBS. In 2014, he was hired by Fox Sports as a game analyst. He was paired with Matt Vasgersian and called games in the No. 2 booth. He has also joined Fox Sports South and SportSouth to be an analyst for select Braves games during the 2014 season. Smoltz replaced Harold Reynolds and Tom Verducci, his colleagues from MLB Network, as the lead analyst for Major League Baseball on Fox for the 2016 season, teaming up with Joe Buck.

Smoltz and his good friend Jeff Foxworthy teamed up for the charity event “An Evening With Smoltz and Friends” on November 9, 2008 at the Verizon Amphitheater in Alpharetta to raise money for the John Smoltz Foundation, which has supported numerous charitable endeavors in the Atlanta area over the past decade.

2009

On January 13, 2009, Smoltz signed a one-year contract with the Red Sox for a reported base salary of $5.5 million with roster time incentives and miscellaneous award incentives which could net as much as $10 million. He made his first start in the Red Sox rotation on June 25, allowing seven hits and five runs through five innings. Smoltz posted a 2–5 record over eight games with an 8.32 ERA and no quality starts. He was designated for assignment on August 7 after a 13–6 loss to the New York Yankees, giving the Red Sox ten days to release or trade him, or send him to the minors. The Red Sox offered Smoltz a minor league stint in order to prepare him to be placed in the bullpen, but he rejected the offer. On August 17, the Red Sox released Smoltz.

On August 19, 2009, Smoltz signed with the St. Louis Cardinals; he made his debut against the Padres on August 23. In his first game for the Cardinals, he went five innings, striking out nine and walking none, while setting a Cardinals franchise record by striking out seven batters in a row.

2010

It was speculated that Smoltz might run for Congress in 2010 as a Republican candidate to fill the departing John Linder’s seat in Georgia’s 7th congressional district.

2012

On April 16, 2012, the Braves announced that they would retire Smoltz’s number 29. The ceremony, which took place before the June 8 game against the Toronto Blue Jays, included speeches by former broadcaster Pete van Wieren, former teammate Matt Diaz and former manager Bobby Cox.

On April 22, 2012, Smoltz hosted a fundraiser for Andrea Cascarilla, a Democratic candidate for State Representative in Michigan’s 71st House District. The 71st District encompasses Waverly Senior High School, where Smoltz was an All-State baseball and basketball player.

2015

Smoltz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2015. He was the first starting pitcher since 1987 to be elected despite having fewer than 250 wins and only one Cy Young Award, and the first such starter ever elected on the first ballot.

Smoltz is the Atlanta host for Big League Impact, an eight-city fantasy football network created and led by longtime Cardinals pitcher and former teammate Adam Wainwright. In 2015, the organization raised more than $1 million for various charitable organizations.

2018

Smoltz is a good friend of pro golfer Tiger Woods, the two often play golf together. Woods has stated that Smoltz is the best golfer outside of the PGA Tour that he has seen. Smoltz has stated that he once had a plus 4 handicap. In 2018, Smoltz qualified for the U.S. Senior Open, one of senior golf’s major championships. He is also involved in the sport of bowling.

2019

Smoltz plays every year in the American Century Championship at Lake Tahoe. He won the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions in Orlando in January, 2019.

🎂 Upcoming Birthday

Currently, John Smoltz is 55 years, 0 months and 1 days old. John Smoltz will celebrate 56th birthday on a Monday 15th of May 2023.

Find out about John Smoltz birthday activities in timeline view here.

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