John Smoltz
photo by Tim Evearitt
The greatest era in Braves history was celebrated this past July, when Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Bobby Cox were all inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame. This celebration will likely be rekindled over the next few years, as John Smoltz and Chipper Jones travel to Cooperstown to experience baseball's greatest honor.
Smoltz made his Major League debut during the Dale Murphy era in Atlanta. He stuck around long enough to gain the proud distinction of being the only player to be with the Braves throughout their run of 14 consecutive division titles.
Now, Smoltz finds himself as a first-year eligible player on the 2015 Hall of Fame ballot, which includes two of his former Atlanta teammates -- Fred McGriff and Gary Sheffield.
Smoltz, Sheffield, Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez will all draw great attention over the next week, as they find themselves on the ballot for the first time. McGriff has never been named on more than 23.9 percent of the ballots during any of his previous five years of eligibility.
A candidate must receive 75 percent of the vote from Baseball Writers' Association of America members to gain election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Second baseman Craig Biggio (74.8 percent), catcher Mike Piazza (62.2 percent) and first baseman Jeff Bagwell (54.3 percent) are the top returning vote-getters from last year's ballot. Results of the 2015 election will be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 6 on MLB Network and MLB.com.
On his way to becoming the only pitcher in Major League history to notch 200 wins and 150 saves, Smoltz was awarded one National League Cy Young Award (1996) and gained selection to eight All-Star teams. Maddux, Glavine, Roger Clemens and Johnson were the only pitchers to notch more wins than Smoltz during the 1990s.
When Smoltz experienced lingering discomfort after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2000, he transitioned to the closer's role and recorded 154 saves in just a little more than three seasons. The 144 saves he notched from 2002-04 ranked second only to Eric Gagne.
Smoltz then posted the NL's fifth-best ERA (3.28) during a three-year starting pitching stint he began at age 38. He owns the Braves' record for career strikeouts and ranks fifth on the all-time franchise list in both wins and games started.
His franchise record 15 postseason wins ranks second among all Major League pitchers. Smoltz went 13-4 with a 2.55 ERA in the 27 playoff starts he made for Atlanta from 1991-2005.
--- Source: MLB.com
John Smoltz
photo by Tim Evearitt