Real Sports Hero

When I was home from college for summer break, I remember clearly looking forward to curling up each evening on the couch in my parents' den and watching the Braves game, uninterrupted for hours. No classes, no tests, no deadlines. Just the pure thrill of summer baseball. Sometimes my siblings would join me, unless they had dates. (Fortunately, for me, my husband saw through the supergeek exterior.) But normally, I watched alone. For me, no matter what was going on in my life, I knew that almost every evening on TBS, the Braves would be there. Skip, Pete, Don, and Joe became like family friends. "That ball is hit hard. It's going, going.....and caught by the second baseman." It was like comfort food during a time in my life when things never seemed certain.

Much has changed over the past year for the Braves. No longer are they on TBS. The network has now opted to show reruns of Family Guy and Everybody Loves Raymond. (I hope that's working out for them.) When I turn the channel to Fox Sports South, or whatever it is, I now only see Joe and some red-headed guy. Mark Lemke has moved from second base to the radio booth, and Ron Gant is now host of the pre/post-game shows. What has remained constant, though, are two players who have earned my respect more as each year passes, Chipper Jones and John Smoltz. And we learned yesterday, that Smoltz could possibly be hanging up his uniform for good. Season and possibly career-ending surgery looms heavy on the horizon.

As someone who resists change, I've weathered the recent changes to the team rather well, but my heart was heavy yesterday upon hearing the news. John Smoltz is more than a pitcher; he's a phenomenal pitcher, but he is also a class-act, who quietly breaks records then eases gracefully from the spotlight to focus on family and charity. While I'd cringe watching Greg Maddux drop the f-bomb when a pitch didn't go the way he'd intended, I'd admire Smoltz's poise and character. A Christian, who doesn't just "talk the talk," he truly lives his faith and has earned the respect of players and coaches everywhere. In his own words, "I’m still going to go out and give it all I’ve got. I just don’t play for the records or the popularity anymore. I play for no one other than the Lord now and when you play only for Him it really removes the pressure you once had and you can go out and have fun and work hard"(Serving Christ Through Baseball,Cash, 1999).

In an era where performance enhancing drugs have become more common than sunflower seeds in the dugout, Smoltz has always played by the rules. His faith in God and in the purity of the game have earned him quite a career, not only as a starter but also as a closer. He is the real deal, a true American sports hero. And while I realize he might be back next year as a lefty, I just wanted to say kudos to John. It has been a real pleasure to grow up watching you pitch with such grace, elegance, and character.