Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz won a Cy Young Award and a World Series ring, but said that pales in comparison to his latest athletic achievement — qualifying for the US Senior Open.
Upon learning he qualified, the 51-year-old baseball broadcaster said it’s the most excited he has ever been, which is saying a lot for someone with a baseball career like Smoltz’s.
“This is been a dream of mine since I was probably 35 to 40 years old and I know a lot of my teammates were tired of hearing it, that I was going to do this one day, but it is the most excited I’ve ever been,” Smoltz told reporters on Tuesday. “Winning my first Major league baseball game was something cool and unforgettable and shared with my family, but part of a team.”
Smoltz qualified for US Senior Open — teeing off Thursday at the Broadmore Golf Club’s East Course in Colorado Springs — after surviving a playoff with two other golfers. Once he knew he was in, the euphoria of victory set in.
“I don’t know if there’s a cloud higher than cloud nine,” he said, “but that’s where I feel like I’ve been.”
Lifetime Achievement Award?
More special than eight All-Star Game appearances, 3,084 strikeouts, and the only pitcher to win more than 200 games and record 150 saves?
“Well this is where I probably lose people because they don’t understand it’s probably the number one thing that I’ve ever accomplished,” Smoltz said. “Everything I’ve been part of before has been a team thing, and I’m proud of all my accomplishments from a team aspect, but an individual role or accomplishment, I haven’t had anything anywhere close to this.”
Smoltz is confident he can compete in the tournament, but is realistic about his expectations.
“I want to obviously shoot under par, but I don’t want to do something or say something that is far-fetched to where I’m not being real,” Smoltz said. “So my goal is to make the cut. I’ve had, I don’t know, six, seven, eight tournaments where there’s been a cut, and I’m batting maybe 50 percent.”
Oddsmakers are less optimistic. They have his odds to win the tournament at 5000/1. Making the cut is -2000 for “no,” and +1000 for “yes.” The over/under for his first-round score was 82.5. Bernhard Langer is the favorite at 7/1.
Pitching Wedge
Smoltz is not the first MLB pitcher to have success in professional golf. Former Pittsburgh Pirate Rick Rhoden was a fixture on the Champions Tour for seven years. He made three top-10 finishes and had career earnings of $341,428. He also dominated the Celebrity Players Tour, capturing 50 titles.
Pitchers have tended to be adept at golf. Smoltz’s teammates Tom Glavine, and Mike Maddux also played, and the three were known to bring their golf clubs with them on road trips.
Smoltz said there is definitely common ground between pitching and golf.
“I think they’re real similar from a pitcher’s standpoint,” Smoltz said. “Sight oriented. You pick a target and you’re trying to execute.”
Smoltz is self-taught at the sport. He’s said he picked it up when he first started pitching in the minor leagues as something to do on his days off. He has never had a lesson, and rarely practices.
“I don’t have a routine, I just, I play golf,” Smoltz said. “I love it.”