Atlanta Braves Opening Day countdown: 55, Smoltz’s second life

For many pitchers, surgery could mean an end to their career. For one Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame pitcher, it was the start of a second life.

Many modern fans don’t realize just how devastating and unknown the recovery from Tommy John surgery once was, even within the last 25 years. For Atlanta Braves star John Smoltz, it gave him a chance to star on the mound in a whole new way.

Before the surgery

Smoltz had established himself as a starter quickly in his career with the Atlanta Braves, making an All-Star game his first full season in the major leagues. He put himself firmly in the hearts of Braves fans with his epic performance in October 1991 and then continued to be a postseason top performer for the team.

However, roughly 2,200 regular season and postseason innings through his age-30 season in the league left Smoltz’s arm barking. He missed starts in 1998 for the first time in his career, and missed more in 1999, though he still combined for 55 starts in the two seasons. That was the last he’d been seen for a while, though.

Smoltz had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire 2000 season. He returned to the majors in mid-May 2001, but after 5 starts, he went back to the DL with soreness. Wanting to keep their star healthy and with enough starting arms to make a run to the postseason, the Braves talked with Smoltz about a big change to his career.

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Second career

On July 22nd, 2001, in a home game against the Montreal Expos, Smoltz pitched the final inning of the game, throwing a perfect inning with a strikeout in an 8-2 win. He would ease into his bullpen role, working as a setup man for a month before picking up the first save of his career on August 17th. He’d finish 2001 with 10 saves over 36 appearances.

The 2002 season pitted Smoltz against the record books. Working as the head of one of the most elite bullpens in the history of the Atlanta Braves franchise, Smoltz earned an All-Star bid on his way to a team-record 55 saves, leading a bullpen that led all of baseball in saves and ERA in 2002.

Smoltz had two more dominant seasons as a closer, saving 45 games with a 1.12 ERA in 2003 and saving 44 with a 2.75 ERA in 2004. He rejoined the rotation in 2005 and promptly made the All-Star team that season before leading the league in wins in 2006 at age 39.

His dual-threat career most likely gave John Smoltz the boost to make the Hall of Fame, but he did become the first pitcher to have Tommy John to make the Hall of Fame, and without his return to a different role after the surgery, his HOF fate and the fate of the Atlanta Braves in the early 2000s could have been very different!