That Time Braves Legend John Smoltz Almost Joined the Yankees

Few have had as long of a tenure with the Atlanta Braves as John Smoltz. However, the 20-year stint in Atlanta nearly met an early end at the hands of a World Series foe.

In an interview with MLB insiders Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman, Smoltz revealed he came closer to signing with the New York Yankees.

Following the 2001 season, Smoltz was coming off his first season following Tommy John surgery. He had been the closer for the final month of the season, but he wanted to return to the rotation. However, the Braves saw him as a closer going forward, which led to a riff during contract negotiations.

Meanwhile, the Yankees, coming off a World Series loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks, saw him as a potential addition to the rotation. Then Yankees general manager Gene Michael wanted to capitalize. Negotiations saw him miles apart from the Braves in terms of role and dollars.

“He knew my arm was healthy,” Smoltz said. “And he offered me $52 million over four years to go with the Yankees, and I wasn’t getting anywhere close to that with the Braves.”

John Shuerholz was offering him $21 million for three years.

Smoltz wasn’t above taking a hometown discount, and he wanted to stay in Atlanta if he could help it. However, he felt it was too much of a lowball.

“Mariano Rivera is the best in our business,” he said. “Nobody’s better, but I’m not taking a penny less than him. It wasn’t arrogance. I was just like, I don't want to be the closer.”

He was about ready to greenlight a deal that would send him to the Bronx. But one last call that he felt he owed to Shuerholz allowed an eleventh-hour deal to be made. They agreed to what was still a substantial discount compared to what the Yankees offered. According to Spotrac, Smoltz agreed to a three-year deal worth $30 million.

It guaranteed that he would stick around through the 2004 season. For the Braves, in a way, it was a relief beyond just keeping Smoltz around. They ended up losing one of their longtime starters, Tom Glavine, to a New York team the following season. Greg Maddux opted to return to the Cubs.

Losing Smoltz to the Yankees would have stung on another level at the time for fans, too. They had recently lost to them in the World Series twice in 1996 and 1999. To lose both and then they take one of their stars would have been a gut punch.

How he would have looked teaming up with Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in pinstripes is a reality we will never know.

In the end, the push to keep one of those big three arms around worked out because he ended up being the lone one of them who stayed. However, while he wanted to a remain a starter, it would be some time still before he resumed that role.

During those three years after choosing to stay in Atlanta, he was the closer, and a very good one. He pitched to a 2.47 ERA and notched 144 saves, including 55 in 2002.

Starting in 2005, which happened to be at the start of his following contract, he made his return to the rotation. By then, there appeared to be little concern about the health of his arm. He averaged 222 innings pitched over those three seasons he was back in the Braves rotation.

It didn’t fully assure that Smoltz was a lifer. He spent his final season in the majors, split between the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals in 2009

But the decision ensured seven more seasons, and a few more division titles mixed in there as well. Glavine even returned for the 2008 season, giving them a chance to reunite before an era of Braves baseball came to its true conclusion.

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