1996 All-Star Game 25th Anniversary: John Smoltz 2002 Topps #145

Our 2021 year long series is dedicated to the 1996 All-Star Game which occurred at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia 25 years ago. 

My goal is to get 20 or so postings on the subject. Almost anything will be better than the half dozen columns on last years subject, the 1980 World Champion Phillies.

Tonight our first posting is dedicated to Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz who was bestowed the honor of staring for the National League by his manager Bobby Cox.  

2002 Topps #145 John Smoltz (stolen from amazon)

Smoltz was the first of 9 pitchers involved in the The NLs 6-0 shutout the Junior circuit. Among the hurlers Smoltz was the only pitcher to record more than an inning pitched. He faced 8 batters giving up a pair of hits. Smoltz only strike out was Albert Belle, among the other five batters he retired were four future Hall of Famers: Wade Boggs, Robby Alomar, Cal Ripken, and Pudge Rodriguez. For you advanced stats folks among the 14 pitcher who saw action in the game Smoltz was the WPA Leader with +0.102.

2002 Topps

This is definitely one of my least favorites Topps flagship issues. Don't like the brown/orange border color. It's a shame because I do like the pennant design - and this is the one year where I think Chrome looks better than flagship. 

Chose this one because it ties together two Braves Hall of Famers. The other is Eddie Mathews who passed away in 2001. To Honor Mathews the Braves wore a memorial patch which you can see on Smoltz upper sleeve. It is Eddie Mathews #41 which the Braves retired on July 26 1969. 

Sources and Links

1996 All-Star Game 25th Anniversary

John Smoltz HOF Index

Eddie Mathews HOF Index

Baseball-Ref 

mlb

1990: Year of the No-Hitter - May 27th Near-Hitter John Smoltz

Today we have another Year of the No-Hitter posting which is only a Lo-Hitter or Near-Hitter. On May 27th a then 24 Year Old John Smoltz was facing the Phillies at the Vet on Beach Towel Day and he took a No-Hitter into the 9th inning.

1991 Score #208 John Smoltz

Unfortunately for Smoltz it was not to be, One of the three remaining outs he needed was Lenny Dykstra who was batting .408 going into play that day.  With a 6-0 lead Smoltz decided to challenge the hottest hitter in baseball and Lenny doubled down the right field line.

Box Notes
The man that broke up Smoltz's No-Hitter was Lenny Dykstra, who was batting .408 going into the gaem. The Phillies staring pitcher that day was Terry Mulholland, whom we will hear from a bit later in our Year of the No-Hitter series.

Smoltz's Reaction
When asked about the Near Miss post game Smoltz referred to Dave Stieb who had lost not one but two no-hitters in the ninth inning:

 "I never knew what Dave Steib went through. Now I do - even though mine was one out earlier." 

Like the aforementioned Terry Mulholland we will here from Dave Stieb later in this series as well....

Flip

1991 Score #208 John Smoltz

The documented in the first paragraph of text on Smoltz's 1991 Score Card. I had several options of cards to post noting the near-hitter and Score's recognition of Smoltz's big day made the choice easy.

It's in the Cards
A lot of reasons are given for Topps relegation to the second tier of trading cards in the 90s - Holograms, Photography, Relics, Autos etc. One I rarely see mentioned is the difference in copy. Check the text on the back of the 1991 Topps Smoltz Card.

1991 Topps #157 John Smoltz (b-side)

One line on John Smoltz's 1988 Season at Richmond. The A-Side is fine enough though.

1991 Topps #157 John Smoltz

Nice early card of Smoltz pre-mustache. There is a lot to like about 1991 Topps, nice design lots of great shots throughout the set. I have always been fond of cards where an element of the photo pops out beyond the border a bit, On the Smoltz card his pitching hand extends just beyond the edge as if he is going to throw a fastball through the frame.

Sources & Links
1990 Year of the No-Hitter Index

John Smoltz HOF Index

Baseball-ref
Philadelphia Inquirer
LA Times

Sunday Night Baseball: 2015 Hall of Fame Candidate John Smoltz - 2003 Topps #556

For tonight's Sunday Night Baseball feature we are posting the 2nd installment of our 2015 HoF candidates. With the Braves hosting the Nats we turn to John Smoltz.

2003 Topps #556 John Smoltz

The HoF case for John Smoltz is interesting.  Due to a career arc that moved him to the closer role Smoltz is pretty unique in the history of the game.  Despite only starting five games over a 5 year period (2000-2004) Smoltz still found time to win 213 games. In addition to that big number Smoltz won a World Series (1995) and collected a Cy Young award. He was a member of 8 All-Star teams and started the 1996 game that was hosted by the Phillies.

Smoltz Advanced stats numbers give him a little trouble. The four years he spent closing likely hurt Smoltz career WAR numbers. His 69.5 WAR number is a few ticks below the Average for HoF candidates. That number puts Smoltz above Jim Palmer, Don Sutton, Juan Marichal and Don Drysdale. It also puts him below Non-Haller Rick Reuschel.

There is a significant third aspect to Smoltz's HoF resume - His Postseason numbers. The man was 15-4 in 209 playoff innings. His ERA in those game was a very solid 2.67. 

Phungo Verdict
HoF - This is a pretty easy one for me. Even with the baseball world turning towards SABRmetrics I think the BBWAA will agree and put John Smoltz in the Hall on Ballot One.  The overall career numbers coupled with the World Series Ring and Smoltz's dominant postseason numbers make for  a pretty strong case. In addition I think the BBWAA will look favorably upon Smoltz for being able to accept any role to help the team.

2003 Topps

I love this card. In general I think 2003 Topps is underrated. The rich colors throughout the set work and I like the profile pix in the lower corner which echoes 1983 Topps, another Phungo favorite. Beyond that I am a fan of cards with the throwback unis. The Braves Hank Aaron era throwback meshes well with the set color scheme.  HoF card for a HoF player.

Pix
The photo on this card was taken in the 9th inning of a Braves 5-3 victory over the Phillies on July 27, 2002. There are couple of Phillies and Braves cards in 2003 Topps that have the throwbacks, not all of these can be attached to the July 27th game as the teams wore the unis for all 3 games of the weekend series. The 7/27 and 7/28 games were both day games while Friday 7/26 was played at night. We were able to pin down the Smoltz card as the middle game on Saturday as it was the only time he pitched in the series.

John Smoltz HOF Index

1991 Score #208 (Year of the No-Hitter)

2002 Topps #145 (1996 ASG w/ Eddie Mathews Memorial Patch)

Sources and Links
Phungo HoF Index

Game Date Cards Index
The Throwback Report 
2015 Topps HoF Candidates
Baseball-ref

Update
20017 0727: The Pix paragraph was added, Sources and Links reconfigured.