Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz, the only man to record at least 200 career wins and 150 saves, was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot Tuesday, joining a class of four that included pitching greats Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez and 3,000-hit-club member Craig Biggio. Smoltz was elected one year after former Braves Big Three pitching mates Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were elected in their first year on the ballot and inducted alongside their longtime former manager, Bobby Cox.
Here are some of Smoltz’s comments from a Tuesday conference call with national reporters and a news conference s at Turner Field:
On being elected to the Hall of Fame
“This is an honor that I could not have anticipated when I started playing baseball, and even today. I just want to thank the Baseball Writers Association of America for giving me their vote of confidence to be enshrined in the greatest Hall of Fame that we have…. I’m not comfortable with titles, but I’m relishing this one and I will for the rest of my life.”
On the Braves winning just one World Series in 14 consecutive postseason trips
“The way baseball is, there’s so many components that make up a great team or define a champion. We had all those ingredients and more, we just did not…. Nobody cares how close you are; we lost our first eight World Series games by one run, and in baseball it’s not different than losing by eight. We had opportunities, we just didn’t get it done.
“Personally, I was given an opportunity to go (to the postseason) 14 straight years. I don’t think anyone else will ever be able to do that. Yeah, there’s a little part of you that goes, my gosh, we could have won a few more, and how didn’t we get it done. But when I look back, and I started with three consecutive 100-loss seasons, it (14 consecutive division title4s) was the greatest run in sports. And I know the end result is what we get known for. But at least we got one (World Series). No doubt we should have had a few more.”
On going from starter to closer for three full seasons in the prime of his career after Tommy John elbow surgery
“To say the least, (converting to closer) was the hardest thing I’d ever done, the fast track of trying to learn on the job, faster than I was ready for. What most people don’t understand is that I failed miserably in the beginning (as full-time closer), and in failing miserably it motivated me, much like the rest of my career, to rally. I gave up eight runs in two-thirds of an inning, I believe against the Mets, and I got booed. And I struggled that whole month due to a thumb injury. And at the end of the year, 55 saves kind of answered a lot of those questions. And kind of made people forget about me as a starter, which at that time was a little tough to swallow.”
On pitching through injuries, including a torn ulnar collatel ligament in his elbow before having surgery
“I changed arm angles, I threw sidearm, I threw knuckleballs, I pitched under circumstances that probably weren’t ideal. And yet all under the idea that the competitiveness I have, the thing was to win, and if that met staying in the bullpen I would have stayed in the bullpen. And if the club would have determined that was the best avenue for me, once they made the change I would have stayed there. And I make no bones about it, as long as my manager Bobby Cox was in Atlanta, I was going to be in Atlanta.”
On getting elected to the Hall of Fame one year after being in Cooperstown as a broadcaster for the induction of his friends Maddux and Glavine, and Cox
“It means a lot. Last year was an experience I’ll never forget – sitting, working, seeing Bobby and obviously Tom and Greg going into the Hall of Fame, gave me a fresh perspective of the ‘what if’ scenario. But for those of you who know me, I never really spent too many days thinking about getting in the Hall of Fame. It hasn’t hit me. The phone call came, I obviously was very excited. I haven’t even been able to talk to my kids yet, the schedule they have you on
“It’s something I never expected, but I truly will treat with the same dignity and integrity that I carried myself with while I was here (playing).”
“This has really been an incredible experience.”
On coming back from five arm surgeries, and Cox’s comment about him pitching with a torn elbow ligament
“I’m about the most competitive person that I know, which there in itself is probably a competition. But I prided myself on giving everything I had every single time. It probably wasn’t the smartest decision all the time, but I never risked my future. I always gathered information, tried everything I could try. To be honest, when I started dropping my arm and finding ways to throw pain-free or with less pain, to me that year was the most special year, because no one knew how hard it was. I was trying to fake it, and I knew what I was headed for (surgery). That was the year, ’99, when we got swept by the Yankees, but we really didn’t (in that) it was the closest four-game sweep you could ever have, I guess. But I rememeber at one point in frustration, down three games to none, going back overhand and throwing the way I knew was going to be my last game throwing that way. I think I struck out a bunch and we lost. But that offseason I tried throwing knuckleballs all offseason, and I basically was fighting the inevitable, and ultimately had Tommy John surgery. But I always felt, why not try everything and do everything you can until the last resort, surgery.
“What I’m most proud of is in the integrity of the game and doing it the right way, is that for five surgeries I think I missed a record (low) amount of time. Tommy John is what it is – I missed a year. But all those other (surgeries) I was able to come back and work really hard. I think back to all the rehab that I had to do, the countless hours of tricking my brain to get back to the point I wanted to get to, and that was pretty gratifying.”
On being a Michigan native traded from the Tigers while still a top prospect
“My desire was to pitch at home; that was a dream come true (potentially) in Detroit. But that didn’t happen. Then my desire was still to play in the big leagues, which I was given a great opportunity here, with an organization that needed pitching and needed to turn its ways.”
“I had this big rollercoaster start to my career. I went to the All-Star game in my first year, I went 11-5 (first half). Then I won one game in the second half. I mean, there was enough of that that it pushed me to be as good as I possibly could.”
On his goals early on and how they seemed unlikely for a while
“I wanted to pitch in the World Series, I wanted to pitch in the biggest games. And when you lose 100 games in your first three years I don’t think you really see the light at the end of the tunnel. And then in ’91 it just magically turned.”
On his background and reinventing himself as a pitcher over the years
“I think back to playing the accordion (as a kid); there was no reason to think I would be a baseball player, and I always found ways as a kid. I grew up with a great brother and a sister. But when I was by myself I would kick a ball into a tree and pretend it was blocked and try to go cover it. I would throw a baseball against a wall and would pretend I was in the cathedral of the World Series. I found ways to do what I thought every kid did – playing basketball by yourself, I was one team and if I missed I was the winning team, and I kept doing that back and forth. I just remember as a kid, finding ways. I broke my hand, broke my thumb, and I learned how to dribble with the other hand. I just never was going to be confined to, OK, now you can’t do something. And it really embodied my whole career.
“Bobby probably heard it more than anybody – I’ll do this, I’ll do that. I pushed myself into being a reliever that year because it was something where I knew I couldn’t help us in the rotation coming back from Tommy John, and I remember like it was yesterday telling Bobby and him saying, ‘I’ll wait.’ I said, Bobby, there’s nothing to wait for, I can’t do it. I’m going to the minors. I’m just letting you know I can help us out of the pen. And I remember going to the minors, and then coming up to his office and Bobby said, ‘I don’t know when I can do it, but I’ll get you in (as a reliever) when I can.’ And I knew I was going to surprise him and surprise everybody else.”
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