A biography for John Smoltzhasn’t been written yet.
“If the players don't produce, and aren't in the position to be evaluated correctly, then a manager's job of winning or losing baseball games gets falsely reported.”
“I don't know that we'll ever see a 3,000-strikeout guy again.”
“At the age of 7 I said, 'I know what I'm gonna be in life and I'm gonna be a Major League Baseball player.'”
“I wanted to be dependable.”
“As great as '95 was, that's how devastating '96 was.”
“To be honest with you, the two greatest games I ever pitched resulted in losses.”
“To one day be enshrined in the Hall Fame just doesn't make sense.”
“Ever since we discussed and became focused with the pitch count, it's getting worse. It's like if I told you every single day at work you're going to get sick. Sooner or later you're going to get sick. I think the training's wrong. I think the philosophy's wrong.”
“Alan Trammell came right up to me. I was sitting in a locker, looking like I don't belong here. He shook my hand and said, 'Whatever I can do for you, please let me know.'”
“Ian Anderson is Ian Anderson. He's the kind of pitcher that has you living on the edge of your seat, but you don't know it by his heartbeat.”
“I can tell you this, in sports or in life, if the risk is worth the reward, then people are going to still do the things they think to gain an edge.”
“Generally, when you lose, you don't want to leave your home. But for me, to go outside - win or lose - was part of a great system put in place for me, especially when we played on the road.”
“If someone told my parents that their oldest child was going to be a major league pitcher, they wouldn't have believed it.”
“I would think I'd want to win the Masters. It would be cool to have a green jacket.”
“I've learned so much through golf and myself. I've been frustrated a lot, but I've proved a lot, too.”
“Challenge me to ice skate, and I'll do it. I've never put on ice skates in my life, but that's kind of what I'm all about.”
“Fenway is unique in itself, the whole idea of pitching in Fenway is unlike any other ballpark, period.”
“This will sound snooty and snobby, but I'm not one to go somewhere where it takes a long time to play golf. I like a quick round.”
“Back in the day The Shark, Greg Norman, was someone I loved to watch and root for. Jack Nicklaus too.”
“What happened in '96, unequivocally, is the biggest gut punch. I still believe the destiny of the Atlanta Braves changed that year.”