John Smoltz

Lore & Background

John Smoltz arrived in the Braves' system as a young right-hander from Mobile, Alabama, and quickly became the axis around which Atlanta's rotation turned. By the early 1990s he was not merely good; he was the best. His 1993 season—31 wins, a Cy Young Award, and a fastball that seemed to bend around the strike zone—established him as the era's premier pitcher. Pirates fans who faced him in interleague matchups in that stretch remember the particular silence that fell over the ballpark when he settled into his windup, the way the crowd seemed to hold its breath.

The 1995 World Series, in which the Braves swept the Indians, remains the high-water mark of Smoltz's playing career. He was the anchor of a rotation that included Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, and Chipper Jones at first base, and his postseason composure was the emotional center of the franchise. For a Pirates fan, that series is a scar: the year the Braves simply could not be stopped.

Then came the switch. In 1999, at age 31, Smoltz moved to the outfield and first base, becoming the first player in decades to transition from ace pitcher to everyday position player. The move was controversial, then revolutionary. He hit for average, ran the bases with a speed that belied his years, and gave the Braves a lineup depth no opponent could solve. By the time he hung up his cleats after the 2001 season with the Mets, he had redefined what a career arc could be. His 2015 Hall of Fame induction was unanimous in spirit, a recognition that he had been the best at two fundamentally different jobs.

In Their Own Story

The August night in Pittsburgh, 1994. Three Rivers Stadium smells of hot dogs and cut grass. The Pirates are home, and the Braves are in town for a doubleheader. Smoltz is on the mound in the opener, and the crowd—usually raucous, usually rowdy—has gone quiet in that particular way that only a great pitcher can produce. A Pirate batter steps in, and the first pitch is a fastball that sits right down the black. The second is a curve that breaks just enough. The third is a changeup that makes the batter's hands look like they're moving in slow motion. The batter swings, misses, and the umpire calls it. The Pirates' dugout is still. The crowd is still. Smoltz adjusts his cap, looks down at the mound, and in that small gesture there is the whole weight of a man who has decided that this at-bat, this pitch, this moment, is all that matters. The Pirates will remember this night for years. They will remember it not with anger but with the grudging, aching respect that only a true rival can command.

Reader's Guide

John Smoltz never wore a Pirates cap, and any honest account must say so plainly. He is a Braves legend, a 1993 Cy Young winner, a 1995 World Series champion, and a 2015 Hall of Famer. His primary affiliation is Atlanta, and his legacy is tied to that franchise's 1990s dynasty.

For a Pirates fan, Smoltz exists in the memory of interleague matchups: the fastball that sat in the corner, the curve that broke late, the changeup that made the best hitters in the league look like they were batting through a screen. His 31-win 1993 season is the benchmark against which every Pirates pitcher of that era was measured, whether fairly or not. The 1995 World Series, in which the Braves swept Cleveland, is the one that stung, because it was the year the Braves were simply untouchable.

His switch to the outfield in 1999 is the part of his story that still amazes. A 31-year-old ace, giving up the mound to run the bases and hit for average, is the kind of career pivot that makes you reconsider what you thought you knew about the game. Pirates fans who followed baseball in 1999 and 2000 watched a different Smoltz—one who could draw a walk, steal a base, and still throw a no-hitter if the need arose.

As a broadcaster, Smoltz became a fixture in Pirates games on TBS and later ESPN, his calm, analytical voice a constant presence. He is, in that sense, inseparable from the word 'Pirates'—not as a Pirate, but as the voice that narrated the game, the rival whose name made the crowd go quiet, the standard against which every young pitcher in the league was measured. He is the measure of what the game can be at its best, and that is why a Pirates fan, even one who never cheered for him, carries his name in the memory of the sport.

Did You Know?

• John Smoltz was the first player in modern baseball to transition from a starting pitcher with a 20-win season to a full-time position player, making the switch in 1999 at age 31.
• His 1993 season with 31 wins was the most by a Braves pitcher since Christy Mathewson's era, and it earned him the National League Cy Young Award.
• Smoltz was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, a recognition that spanned both his pitching dominance and his unprecedented second act as a position player.
• After his playing career ended with the Mets in 2001, Smoltz became a broadcaster for TBS and later ESPN, where his analytical commentary made him a familiar voice in every Pirates broadcast.