John Smoltz

“I was going to be in the final year of my contract and I just figured that no one would want a 34-year-old who had Tommy John surgery. I just didn't think it was going to be worth it. I was pretty down and out and ready to call it quits.”

“If every pitching staff is working at a 30- to 40-percent Tommy John rate and DL rate, then how long are those guys going to last?”

“I have the same approach, whether it's trying to play golf better to broadcasting. Always give it your best shot. That's the one thing I've learned in life, and it's not really a Rocky mentality of being an underdog.”

“Golf was a great way to be better in baseball. And now golf is something I enjoy, and a way to better experience and succeed in life.”

“The best way to describe my career is unique. I can't think of any other word. It's unique in every way.”

“I wanted to win a championship. We won one, but we should have won more.”

“I just felt like every situation I was in, I had a teacher that really was motivating me.”

“I never had any lessons in baseball; I just watched on TV and tried to copy what I saw.”

“There's things that I've been through in golf that baseball couldn't even prepare me for.”

“I want to win more than anybody. But I also like it when people do it the right way and compete the right way.”

“Everybody wants quick results, expectations through the roof.”

“A lot of young players do not know the game, they don't know those who came before them that allowed them to be great, that allowed them to have the moment. That's the one problem I have a problem with - when they think they can just show up and put on a uniform. As long as they honor the game to make it as great of a game as it is, I'm all for it.”

“I use the plane to go through all my mail. I'll accumulate a bunch of stuff and then go through it at one time on the plane.”

“I don't regret or wouldn't change anything I've done financially from the charity giving. The impact that happened there is pretty cool.”

“The Hall of Fame is the top of the mountain.”

“For me, throwing the slider has always been something that has come naturally.”

“We're not developing pitchers the right way. We're asking them to go as hard as you can, and as short as you can, and that's not good enough.”

“I took notes a lot as a baseball player, and I take notes a lot as a golfer.”

“If nothing else, know that your children's passion and desire to play baseball is something that they can do without throwing a competitive pitch.”

“I have fingerprints on my career from all of those who have touched me and impacted me and helped me along the way.”