The visit by the Red Sox to central Florida to play the Braves on Monday will offer yet another reminder of a still-foreign concept. John Smoltz, after 21 seasons with Atlanta, is preparing for life with a new major-league team.
A pitcher who seemed all but certain to spend his entire career with one big-league club is instead rehabbing from shoulder surgery with the goal of a mid-summer unveiling in Boston. The concept is shocking. And yet, in a sense, it is not the most jarring professional move that Smoltz has had to make.
“I wanted to retire an Atlanta Brave, just as much as I wanted to play for my hometown team,” said Smoltz. “Neither of those things happened.”
For Smoltz at least, it is hard to say whether the departure from the Braves was as stunning as the deal that sent him from the Detroit Tigers to Atlanta in 1987. Smoltz was a life-long Tigers fan whose grandfather spent more than three decades working on the grounds crew at Tiger Stadium.
He bypassed a scholarship offer at Michigan State because of the opportunity to play for his hometown team after being drafted in the 22nd round in 1985. As such, he was blindsided when the Tigers dealt him – after the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline, no less – on August 12, 1987, to the Braves for starter Doyle Alexander.
“That was the last thing that I ever expected. That totally threw me for a loop. It’s hard to describe (how difficult that trade was) because of how bad I wanted to play for the Tigers,” Smoltz recalled. “I didn’t know anything about the National League. I was going to the worst team in baseball. I was just crushed.”
The trade is one of the most fascinating in major-league history. More often than not, mid-year deals result in disappointment for one or both teams. A veteran acquired for the stretch run fails to make a difference. A prospect fizzles.
Not in this case. Both the Tigers and Braves got everything they could have wanted out of the players they acquired, making that August 1987 deal a fascinating case study in short-term versus long-term value.
For Detroit, Alexander went 9-0 with a 1.53 ERA in 11 starts, leading the Tigers to an A.L. East title on the last day of the regular season. In Atlanta, Smoltz produced a Hall of Fame career, earning 210 wins and a Cy Young award in his 21 years.
In hindsight, it seems obvious that the Braves got the better of the deal. Even though the Tigers were able to make a remarkable run to win the American League East in 1987 (losing in the ALCS to the Twins), it has been natural for Detroit fans to spend the past two decades wondering, “What if?”
THE YOUNG SMOLTZ
Yet there were only hints in Smoltz’ professional resume at the time that suggested what he would become. After a successful pro debut in 1986 (7-8 record, 3.56 ERA for High-A Lakeland), he struggled terribly in the 1987 season.
The Tigers, who had few legitimate pitching prospects in the upper levels of their minor-league system, pushed Smoltz aggressively through their system. And so, in a season that he started as a 19-year-old (he turned 20 on May 15, 1987), Smoltz was left to flail in the depths of Double-A.
“We did not have a pitching coach there. I was struggling. Our team was horrible,” recalled Smoltz. “I felt like I was just spinning. … I just didn’t know whether I was coming or going. I didn’t know what was going on that year.”
His statistical profile for Glens Falls was terrible that year. Smoltz went 4-10 with a 5.68 ERA while walking almost as many batters (81) as he struck out (86). Despite those struggles, however, the talent was obvious.
Ralph Treuel, currently the minor-league pitching instructor for the Red Sox, held the same position with the Tigers in the 1980s. It was as a roving instructor that he encountered Smoltz – starting in fall instructional league in 1985 – and found that there was a great deal to work with.
“You could see that there was just a great amount of ability there. He was very athletic. He was a lot skinnier back then. He was basically arms and legs and feet,” said Treuel. “He’s filled out fairly well over the last 24 years.”
Yet even before he filled out, Smoltz’ arm was something to behold. Treuel recalled seeing the pitcher as an 18-year-old towards the end of his first instructional league season.
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