A biography for John Smoltzhasn’t been written yet.
“People used to ask me what it's like to play with the two best pitchers in the game. I said, 'It's a blast,' and it really was.”
“My parents didn't know anything about baseball.”
“Teachers are the lifeblood of every school. They spend so much time with kids.”
“A definition of a good broadcast is when 50 percent of the people think you're rooting for one team and the other 50 percent of the people think you're rooting for the other team.”
“I've always said I don't mind facing any right-hander, period.”
“If you ask me, if Tony Gwynn played in a 60-game season, I'd say he's gonna hit .400.”
“I can't tell you how many throws I made against just a brick wall.”
“You had the stoic Glavine, non-emotional and not knowing what's going on. You had kind of the nerdy professor in Maddux and then I was Goofy. I just kind of let it all hang out.”
“Parting ways with the Braves obviously didn't pan out as peacefully as I had hoped.”
“I don't think I ever had a bad teacher, which is really rare.”
“You know, we were going through the playoffs every year with the Braves.”
“I try to squeeze in a round of golf here and there when I get a chance to.”
“I think back to playing the accordion, there was no reason to believe I would be a baseball player.”
“I can't believe I'm a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I just never dreamt that when I was 7.”
“I've always wanted to see how far I could take my competitive golf, but I didn't want to sit and wait for things. I wanted to actually compete in things, and I think that's the only way you learn about your game.”
“A manager's job in baseball, more than any other sport, is managing people.”
“I gave up a lot of money to stay with the Braves four different times and I don't regret any second of it.”
“I've been to great sporting events: the Super Bowl, Final Four, you name it.”
“I knew how hard it was to go seven or eight innings, leave with the lead and have that feeling be empty when the team lost and you didn't have a chance to finish it off.”
“When I was playing, I wanted to win more than anything.”