John Smoltz, baseball player, 1988-2009

John Smoltz

⭐ Hall of Fame 2015

Born: 5/15/1967 in Detroit, MI, USA

MLB Debut: 1988-07-23 | Final Game: 2009-09-30

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 210 lbs

Full name: John Andrew Smoltz

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Biography

John Smoltz, born in 1967, was a prominent pitcher in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1988 to 2009. He played the majority of his career with the Atlanta Braves, where he established himself as one of the premier pitchers of his era. Smoltz finished with a career record of 213-155 and an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 3.33. Over his career, he recorded 3,084 strikeouts and achieved 154 saves, showcasing his versatility as both a starter and a closer. His ability to transition between these roles was a defining characteristic of his career, highlighting his adaptability and skill on the mound. Smoltz's accolades included being an eight-time All-Star and winning the coveted Cy Young Award, which further solidified his status as one of the elite pitchers in baseball history. He was named the NLCS MVP during his illustrious career, demonstrating his ability to perform at the highest level in critical postseason moments. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the game, Smoltz was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. His legacy not only includes his remarkable statistics but also his role in the Atlanta Braves' dominant pitching rotation during the 1990s and early 2000s, a period marked by the team's consistent success.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
213 155 723 481 53 16 154 3473.0 3074 1284 288 1010 3084 3.33 0

Career ERA 3.33 vs. league average 4.28 across their career seasons — 22.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1988 ATL NL 2 7 12 12 0 0 0 64.0 74 39 33 37 5.48 3.73 (-47%) -2514.2
1989 ATL NL 12 11 29 29 5 0 0 208.0 160 68 72 168 2.94 3.71 (+21%) 3026.1
1990 ATL NL 14 11 34 34 6 2 0 231.3 206 99 90 170 3.85 3.86 (avg) 1325.0
1991 ATL NL 14 13 36 36 5 0 0 229.7 206 97 77 148 3.80 3.91 (+3%) 2367.2
1992 ATL NL 15 12 35 35 9 3 0 246.7 206 78 80 215 2.85 3.75 (+24%) 5027.1
1993 ATL NL 15 11 35 35 3 1 0 243.7 208 98 100 208 3.62 4.19 (+14%) 2414.0
1994 ATL NL 6 10 21 21 1 0 0 134.7 120 62 48 113 4.14 4.51 (+8%) 1565.3
1995 ATL NL 12 7 29 29 2 1 0 192.7 166 68 72 193 3.18 4.45 (+29%) 5787.6
1996 ATL NL 24 8 35 35 6 2 0 253.7 199 83 55 276 2.94 4.61 (+36%) 13129.2
1997 ATL NL 15 12 35 35 7 2 0 256.0 234 86 63 241 3.02 4.39 (+31%) 9072.5
1998 ATL NL 17 3 26 26 2 2 0 167.7 145 54 44 173 2.90 4.43 (+35%) 7466.7
1999 ATL NL 11 8 29 29 1 1 0 186.3 168 66 40 156 3.19 4.71 (+32%) 7563.8
2001 ATL NL 3 3 36 5 0 0 10 59.0 53 22 10 57 3.36 4.42 (+24%) 1713.9
2002 ATL NL 3 2 75 0 0 0 55 80.3 59 29 24 85 3.25 4.28 (+24%) 3855.7
2003 ATL NL 0 2 62 0 0 0 45 64.3 48 8 8 73 1.12 4.40 (+75%) 4661.4
2004 ATL NL 0 1 73 0 0 0 44 81.7 75 25 13 85 2.76 4.46 (+38%) 3624.7
2005 ATL NL 14 7 33 33 3 1 0 229.7 210 78 53 169 3.06 4.29 (+29%) 6123.5
2006 ATL NL 16 9 35 35 3 1 0 232.0 221 90 55 211 3.49 4.53 (+23%) 6579.3
2007 ATL NL 14 8 32 32 0 0 0 205.7 196 71 47 197 3.11 4.47 (+31%) 6793.0
2008 ATL NL 3 2 6 5 0 0 0 28.0 25 8 8 36 2.57 4.32 (+41%) 1392.2
2009 BOS AL 2 5 8 8 0 0 0 40.0 59 37 9 33 8.32 4.32 (-93%) -630.5
2009 STL NL 1 3 7 7 0 0 0 38.0 36 18 9 40 4.26 4.32 (+1%) -

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
735 948 77 151 26 2 5 61 3 79 365 0.159 0.226 0.207 0.433 -5904.6

Career AVG .159 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 39.6% below league average.

Career OBP .226 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 32.0% below league average.

Career SLG .207 vs. league average .413 across their career seasons — 49.9% below league average.

Career OPS 0.433 vs. league average 0.745 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1988 ATL NL 12 17 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 0.118 — — — — 0.0
1989 ATL NL 33 62 6 7 1 1 1 6 0 6 23 0.113 .254 (-56%) .319 (-40%) .375 (-44%) .694 (-42%) -437.3
1990 ATL NL 38 74 7 12 2 0 0 4 1 6 32 0.162 .257 (-37%) .324 (-31%) .385 (-51%) .710 (-42%) -509.7
1991 ATL NL 38 65 7 7 3 0 0 3 0 5 28 0.108 .255 (-58%) .323 (-47%) .384 (-60%) .708 (-54%) -592.9
1992 ATL NL 36 75 7 12 0 0 1 4 0 6 32 0.160 .255 (-37%) .322 (-31%) .377 (-47%) .699 (-40%) -481.5
1993 ATL NL 35 71 2 13 1 0 0 4 1 9 24 0.183 .265 (-31%) .332 (-17%) .403 (-51%) .735 (-36%) -412.2
1994 ATL NL 21 37 6 6 1 0 1 1 0 4 14 0.162 — — — — 0.0
1995 ATL NL 29 56 5 6 0 0 0 1 0 7 25 0.107 .266 (-60%) .337 (-39%) .417 (-74%) .755 (-58%) -562.4
1996 ATL NL 35 78 3 17 3 0 1 12 0 3 26 0.218 .269 (-19%) .340 (-26%) .426 (-31%) .767 (-29%) -411.7
1997 ATL NL 36 79 10 18 3 0 0 4 1 9 22 0.228 .266 (-15%) .336 (-9%) .419 (-37%) .756 (-24%) -315.1
1998 ATL NL 26 51 4 10 1 0 0 5 0 8 16 0.196 .266 (-26%) .335 (-6%) .420 (-49%) .755 (-30%) -229.1
1999 ATL NL 29 62 11 17 4 0 1 7 0 5 28 0.274 .271 (+1%) .344 (-2%) .433 (-11%) .778 (-7%) -68.0
2001 ATL NL 36 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2002 ATL NL 75 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2003 ATL NL 62 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2004 ATL NL 73 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2005 ATL NL 33 68 1 10 2 1 0 3 0 3 26 0.147 .264 (-44%) .330 (-45%) .418 (-51%) .749 (-48%) -579.4
2006 ATL NL 35 64 5 8 3 0 0 4 0 4 27 0.125 .269 (-54%) .336 (-48%) .431 (-60%) .768 (-55%) -630.9
2007 ATL NL 32 54 1 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 19 0.093 .268 (-65%) .335 (-68%) .422 (-74%) .758 (-71%) -674.3
2008 ATL NL 6 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2009 BOS AL 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 — — — — 0.0
2009 STL NL 7 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0.077 — — — — 0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
42 56 3 12 1 0 0 2 3 19 0.214

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2009 NLDS1 SLN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2005 NLDS2 ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
2004 NLDS2 ATL 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
2003 NLDS2 ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2002 NLDS1 ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2001 NLCS ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2001 NLDS1 ATL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1999 NLCS ATL 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1999 NLDS1 ATL 1 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.667
1999 WS ATL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 NLCS ATL 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.200
1998 NLDS1 ATL 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.500
1997 NLCS ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1997 NLDS2 ATL 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000
1996 NLCS ATL 2 7 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 0.286
1996 NLDS1 ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1996 WS ATL 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.500
1995 NLCS ATL 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.333
1995 NLDS1 ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000
1995 WS ATL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1993 NLCS ATL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000
1992 NLCS ATL 3 7 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.286
1992 WS ATL 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000
1991 NLCS ATL 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 0.200
1991 WS ATL 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
15 4 41 27 4 209.0 172 62 67 199 2.67

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2009 NLDS1 SLN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 4 1 0 5 4.50
2005 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 7 1 1 5 1.29
2004 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 2 0 0 5.0 4 0 2 4 0.00
2003 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 2 0 1 3.0 4 2 0 1 6.00
2002 NLDS1 ATL 0 0 2 0 0 3.3 2 1 2 7 2.70
2001 NLCS ATL 0 0 2 0 0 3.0 0 0 0 1 0.00
2001 NLDS1 ATL 0 0 3 0 2 4.0 3 1 0 3 2.25
1999 NLCS ATL 0 0 3 1 1 8.7 8 6 0 8 6.23
1999 NLDS1 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 6 4 3 3 5.14
1999 WS ATL 0 1 1 1 0 7.0 6 3 3 11 3.86
1998 NLCS ATL 0 0 2 2 0 13.7 13 6 6 13 3.95
1998 NLDS1 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 7.7 5 1 0 6 1.17
1997 NLCS ATL 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 5 5 5 9 7.50
1997 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 3 1 1 11 1.00
1996 NLCS ATL 2 0 2 2 0 15.0 12 2 3 12 1.20
1996 NLDS1 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 4 1 2 7 1.00
1996 WS ATL 1 1 2 2 0 14.0 6 1 8 14 0.64
1995 NLCS ATL 0 0 1 1 0 7.0 7 2 2 2 2.57
1995 NLDS1 ATL 0 0 1 1 0 5.7 5 5 1 6 7.94
1995 WS ATL 0 0 1 1 0 2.3 6 4 2 4 15.43
1993 NLCS ATL 0 1 1 1 0 6.3 8 0 5 10 0.00
1992 NLCS ATL 2 0 3 3 0 20.3 14 6 10 19 2.66
1992 WS ATL 1 0 2 2 0 13.3 13 4 7 12 2.70
1991 NLCS ATL 2 0 2 2 0 15.3 14 3 3 15 1.76
1991 WS ATL 0 0 2 2 0 14.3 13 2 1 11 1.26

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 723 481 320 433 28 30

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1988 ATL P 12 12 4 6 0 1
1989 ATL P 29 29 23 32 7 2
1990 ATL P 34 34 26 27 3 4
1991 ATL P 36 36 15 34 1 1
1992 ATL P 35 35 23 26 1 3
1993 ATL P 35 35 29 23 0 1
1994 ATL P 21 21 10 18 1 1
1995 ATL P 29 29 12 18 2 0
1996 ATL P 35 35 27 27 1 2
1997 ATL P 35 35 29 31 2 2
1998 ATL P 26 26 12 20 0 2
1999 ATL P 29 29 9 30 1 3
2001 ATL P 36 5 8 7 1 0
2002 ATL P 75 0 11 11 0 0
2003 ATL P 62 0 4 6 0 1
2004 ATL P 73 0 9 9 0 0
2005 ATL P 33 33 22 31 0 4
2006 ATL P 35 35 20 33 2 1
2007 ATL P 32 32 19 29 3 1
2008 ATL P 6 5 2 3 3 0
2009 BOS P 8 8 4 7 0 1
2009 SLN P 7 7 2 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 723

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
2007 Branch Rickey Award
2005 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
2005 Player of the Week Week of 2005-06-25
2005 Roberto Clemente Award
2004 Player of the Week Week of 2004-07-31
2003 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2002 MLB Players Choice Comeback Player
2002 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2002 Reliever of the Year Award
2002 This Year in Baseball Closer of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
2002 TSN Reliever of the Year
1999 Pitcher of the Month April
1997 Player of the Week Week of 1997-08-08
1997 Silver Slugger P
1996 Cy Young Award
1996 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
1996 Pitcher of the Month April
1996 Pitcher of the Month May
1996 TSN All-Star RHP
1996 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1992 NLCS MVP

Featured In Rankings

#24
Top 25 Starting Pitchers in History of MLB Baseball
Ranked 24 of 25
→

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
2009 BOS AL $5,500,000
2008 ATL NL $14,000,000
2007 ATL NL $8,000,000
2006 ATL NL $11,000,000
2005 ATL NL $9,000,000
2004 ATL NL $11,666,667
2003 ATL NL $10,666,667
2002 ATL NL $7,666,667
2001 ATL NL $8,000,000
2000 ATL NL $8,500,000
1999 ATL NL $7,750,000
1998 ATL NL $7,750,000
1997 ATL NL $7,000,000
1996 ATL NL $6,000,000
1995 ATL NL $4,894,445
1994 ATL NL $3,250,000
1993 ATL NL $2,700,000
1992 ATL NL $1,600,000
1991 ATL NL $355,000
1990 ATL NL $210,000
1989 ATL NL $86,000
Total Career Earnings $135,595,446

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2007 Cy Young Award NL 6th 2.0 160 0
2006 Cy Young Award NL 7th 3.0 160 0
2004 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 6.0 448 0
2003 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 9.0 448 0
2002 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 21.0 160 0
2002 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 124.0 448 0
1998 Cy Young Award NL 4th 10.0 160 0
1996 Cy Young Award NL 1st 136.0 140 26
1996 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 33.0 392 0