Best: Working in Bronx, Smoltz has been here before
John Smoltz couldn't help but chuckle, even as nearly 60,000 Yankees fans showered him with their best material.
"When I walked out to start Game 1 of the World Series, there were these professional fans out there, ragging me in ways that made me laugh,'' he said, recalling that night 14 years ago tomorrow.
"Here I am preparing for Game 1 in this historic stadium and they had stuff on me I don't think my mom had on me. Anything they could do to get you off your game was fair game.''
All of that was Cliff Lee's problem last night. Smoltz spoke from the safety of a chair just outside the TBS booth as he prepared to work Game 3 of the ALCS, a highlight of his first season as an analyst.
The neat twist for Smoltz, after all these years, was that the Yankees' starter was Andy Pettitte, the same guy he defeated, 12-1, in that long-ago Game 1 across the street.
And the same guy who, in Game 5 of that World Series, beat Smoltz, 1-0, on an unearned run, giving the Yankees a 3-2 series edge. Two days later, they won their first championship in 18 years.
Smoltz considers it one of the best performances of his life, and one of the most bitter losses.
"We should have won back-to-back World Series and could have run off four or five, like the Yankees did,'' he said before reeling off details of Game 5 that remain painfully clear in his memory.
"That single game, I think, cost us a chance of being talked about in the greater realm rather than, oh, you only won one in 14 years ?''
Does it surprise him that Pettitte still is at it in 2010? "Yes and no,'' he said. "I know Andy personally, so that part doesn't amaze me.''
Smoltz, 43, continued playing through last season, even pitching for the Cardinals in the NLDS, and was prepared to throw again in 2010.
The Cardinals would have been the perfect fit, he said, but he added that the Yankees spoke to him about competing for a spot in the rotation, with the possibility of "a fallback position'' in the bullpen.
Their acquisition of Javier Vazquez from the Braves in late December ended that notion.
"I didn't have enough pride or ego just to say I wanted to pitch to pitch,'' he said. "I had enough pride to say I wanted to pitch in a championship situation.''
So here he is, not having officially announced he is retired - "But in my mind, yes, I am'' - and well into a new career on TV, in which he so far has nicely mixed knowledge with humor.
Smoltz always has been a good talker, so working Braves games on Atlanta TV and regular-season games on TBS and the MLB Network was a no-brainer.
But the ALCS? Isn't that a leap into the TV deep end for a rookie? Smoltz is unintimidated.
"It goes along with my baseball career,'' he said. "I'm not afraid to fail . . . I'm just reacting to a game I've watched from the dugout for close to 25 years.''
Smoltz has other interests, notably golf. A frequent partner, Tiger Woods, has called him the best non-Tour player with whom he has played. His goal is to compete on the Champions Tour someday.
At the Georgia Open in August, he somehow finished only 29th at 1 under par despite what he said were 18 birdies and three eagles, including a hole-in-one.
"So there is a lot of work to be done,'' he said, laughing. "But there is potential.''
