1990
TOPPS #382 JOHN SMOLTZ PITCHER ATLANTA BRAVES ALL STAR HALL OF FAME CY YOUNG
ALL-STAR WORLD SERIES CHAMPION
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Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15,
1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American
former baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball from
1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time
All-Star, Smoltz was part of a celebrated trio of starting pitchers, along with
Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who propelled Atlanta to perennial pennant
contention in the 1990s, highlighted by a championship in the 1995 World
Series. He won the National League (NL) Cy Young Award in 1996 after posting a
record of 24�8, equaling the most victories by an NL pitcher since 1972. Though
predominantly known as a starter, Smoltz was converted to a reliever in 2001
after his recovery from Tommy John surgery, and spent four years as the team's
closer before returning to a starting role. In 2002, he set a National League
record with 55 saves and became only the second pitcher in history (joining
Dennis Eckersley) to record both a 20-win season and a 50-save season. He is
the only pitcher in Major League history to record both 200 wins and 150 saves.
Smoltz
was one of the most successful pitchers in playoff history, posting a record of
15�4 with a 2.67 earned run average (ERA) in 41 career postseason games, (and
in two of those four losses, he surrendered only unearned runs). He was named
the Most Valuable Player of the 1992 NL Championship Series; Andy Pettitte
later broke his record for career postseason wins. Smoltz led the NL in wins,
winning percentage, strikeouts and innings pitched twice each, and his NL total
of 3,084 strikeouts ranked fifth in league history when he retired. He also
holds the Braves franchise record for career strikeouts (3,011), and the record
for the most career games pitched for the Braves (708) since the club's move to
Atlanta in 1966; from 2004 to 2014, he held the franchise record for career
saves and has the single season record. Smoltz left the Braves after 2008 and
split his final season with the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals. Since
retiring as a player, he has served as a color commentator and analyst for both
Fox Sports and MLB Network. Since 2016, he has provided color commentary during
baseball's biggest televised events, notably the All-Star Game and World
Series. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of
eligibility in 2015.