Atlanta Braves WAR leaders #4: John Smoltz (P)
- 78.3 WAR
- 708 games-pitched
- 1988-2008
The now 51-year-old Hall of Famer (inducted in 2015) Smoltz was amazing as a starter and a reliever, notching 213 wins and 154 saves in his career. I don’t have to tell you how rare that is. In his 21 big league seasons, Smoltz had a career 3.33 ERA, eight All-Star appearances, and a Cy Young award in 1996.
Even though wins have lost their weight these days, Smoltz had two separate stints of five straight seasons with double-digit win totals. Even more impressive, starting as a 37-year-old in 2005, he broke off three straight seasons with at least 14 wins and at least 205 innings pitched.
He stands as the only pitcher ever with at least 200 wins overall wins and 150+ saves.
The Accolades
We still see a lot of John Smoltz these days. The former starting pitcher – turned closer, turned starting pitcher again – is a prominent figure in the MLB broadcasting industry, as well as repeated appearances as an analyst on MLB Network.
There’s a reason for his post-player status. Smoltz was a unique player, for reasons that are obvious in regards to his pitching title changes, but also the simple fact that he was a very dominant player in his time.
The eight-time All-Star pitched 20 seasons for the Braves, winning a Cy Young Award in 1996 (finished top-5 in two other Cy Young votes). The Detroit native was a big part of the “Big Three” that helped lead the Braves throughout all of those NL East titles.
In his 1996 Cy Young season, Smoltz pretty much was in a league of his own. He finished the season with 24 wins (led MLB), 253.2 innings-pitched (led NL) and 276 strikeouts (led MLB).
He also led all of baseball in FIP (2.64) – which is a run-prevention stat that is more indicative of the pitcher’s actual ability to limit runs, disregarding variables that he cannot control.
Smoltz also led MLB in strikeouts per nine innings, with a rate of 9.8 K/9. He did it all that season, and as a 29-year-old, he was just getting started.
In 2015, Smoltz received 82.9% of the votes on the ballot, on his way to his Hall of Fame induction. Like Chipper, he is another player that Atlanta Braves fans appreciated – and not for a lifelong career in a Braves uniform (he spent his last two seasons of his career with two other teams), but also because of his successful move to the bullpen.
In his first stint as a starting pitcher, Smoltz finished as high as 11th in the NL MVP voting for the 1996 season (same season he won the NL Cy Young). His role as a closer provided an eighth-place finish in the MVP vote in 2002 when Smoltz led all of baseball with 55 saves.
The Player
John Smoltz made his Major League debut in July of 1988, at 21-years-old, and pitched through eight frames with only four hits allowed. The young Smoltz only had two strikeouts, but more importantly, he got the win.
He would go on to make 11 more starts and finish the season with a 5.48 ERA. It wasn’t the most impressive first-year, but the future was bright for “Smoltzie”.
His first stint as a starting pitcher spans from 1988-1999 (12 seasons) and it was a very impressive dozen seasons for Smoltz. Here are his average stats for that 12-season span:
John Smoltz (1988-1999 average)
- 13 wins
- 3.35 ERA
- 3.30 FIP
- 4 complete games
- 1 shutout
- 201 innings pitched
- 175 strikeouts
- 7.8 K/9
- 2.9 BB/9
Now remember this is a 12-year average. This is just the typical season for Smoltz. When a typical season means over 200 innings pitched and only 2.9 walks per nine innings – especially for a 12-season period – you’ve got it figured out.
Smoltz racked up 157 of his 213 wins in that time period but moved to the bullpen after an injury that caused him to miss a year (the 2000 season).
Now moving on to his closer role, Smoltz was just as dominant when he started coming out of the bullpen. From 2001-2004, he was a superstar closer for the Braves and racked up 154 saves in those four seasons. Since we looked at his averages as a starter, let’s look at his averages as a closer:
John Smoltz (2001-2004) averages
- 38 saves
- 2.65 ERA
- 2.47 FIP
- 1.01 WHIP
- 9.5 K/9
- 1.7 BB/9
His ability to be a top-tier starting pitcher, get hurt, and then come back as a top-tier closer is remarkable. The adjustments he had to have made to be able to pitch in constant high-leverage situations are impressive, when for so many years he was so used to approaching pitching in a manner that would enable him to make it through six innings.
Best season
1996 (8.4 WAR)
- 253.2 IP
- 24-8
- 276 K
- 2.94 ERA
- 2.64 FIP
As mentioned above, Smoltz ripped off a career season in 1996 at the still prime age of 29. Not only did he lead the Majors in strikeouts (276), but he also paced all Major League pitchers in strikeouts per nine innings – with 9.8 K/9.
The trio of Smoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine all made at least 35 starts that season and won at least 15 games. Smoltz’s 8.4 fWAR would lead all Major League pitchers and rank third overall compared to all Major League players.
The way Smoltz was able to strike batters out that season coupled with the fact that he only had 55 walks (1.96 BB/9), proved that a pitcher can be in the zone all season. Very few players are able to not only start off the season playing at a high level but have the ability to maintain that kind of dominance all year.
The legacy that Smoltz created playing for the Atlanta Braves will always be the bar set for pitchers that come through the Braves organization. I don’t think we will ever see another pitcher in the game be able to have that kind of success both as a starting pitcher and as a closer.