By Scott Pohl, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-964319.mp3
LANSING, MI – Other than Earvin "Magic" Johnson, John Smoltz might be the greatest athlete ever to come out of Lansing.
His 22-year career, spent mostly with the Atlanta Braves, saw Smoltz become the only pitcher in major league history to win 200 games while also posting 150 saves as a relief pitcher.
Now that his playing days are behind him, Smoltz is trying something new: professional golf. Next week, he'll play in an event on the Nationwide Tour, one level below the PGA Tour. He didn't earn his way into the tournament; he was invited to play by the sponsors of the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta, Georgia.
WKAR's Scott Pohl spoke with Detroit News sportwriter Lynn Henning, who has written extensively about baseball AND golf. He says Smoltz needs to figure out if he can play competitive tournament golf.
AUDIO:
LYNN HENNING: He's a very, very, very skilled golfer. He probably has the game, but as we know, Scott, things change when you get in that really elite, competitive environment. The Nationwide Tour is just about there with the PGA Tour.
SCOTT POHL: Well, I was going to ask you about what you know about his game, whether or not you think he can compete at that level.
HENNING: He can compete at that level in the same manner as so many guys who play scratch golf theoretically can play at a very, very lofty tournament elevation. But the question I've got there, again, is whether or not once he plays with these younger guys, -- and these cats are good, and they are really, really experienced at knowing how to deal with every shot and every situation, psychologically and physically -- and for a guy in his 40s like Smoltz, that's going to be a tougher row to hoe. He definitely has the skill set. I know where he plays down there at various courses, I know how good he is in coastal Georgia, for instance, where he's played, and he is very accomplished. But he is going to be playing against guys half his age, Scott, and in an environment that's going to be very foreign to him, and only because he's John Smoltz and because he has competed in baseball at that level, would you give him a serious chance.
POHL: If you had to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 his chances of, say, making the cut here, how good would you say his chances might be?
HENNING: From afar, 5. And again, he didn't play his way into this, as you've mentioned. He's there because of a courtesy, and yet again, it wouldn't be surprising if he shot something even close to par. My guess is it's going to come in considerably north of that, only because of what we just talked about, but Smoltz has got a chance. I think it's good for him, because at least then he can use this as a measuring stick as to whether or not he can really compete, but he is up against some very, very tall cotton here, even on that Nationwide Tour side.
POHL: Now, he won't be the first former pro athlete to take a crack at professional golf. How have the others fared?
HENNING: A lot of them have done pretty well when they've gone, let's say, the Seniors route, and that's probably where he's got a better chance, competing against 50-year-olds-plus when he turns 50 might be really more his path and avenue, and I'm sure he's thinking about it in those terms. John Brodie made the conversion from football to the Seniors Tour and did pretty well. Ralph Terry, the former major league pitcher, he was able to handle himself, and Smoltz probably would enter that fray with better equipment and with a better game than they had. But right now, he's trying to go against the young guys, and that's going to be a different order altogether.
POHL: How likely would you say it is that John Smoltz will be elected to the Hall of Fame in baseball?
HENNING: I think it's a certainty because of what he did as a starter and reliever over, really, three decades. He is going to go in, there's no question in my mind about that. I don't know if he'll go in in year one, but he is going to Cooperstown. His numbers are simply really good, and again, over that span of time. When you've done it on an exceptional level for a lengthy stint, as he has, and again, 20-plus years, you've got a guy there who really, really, really qualifies, and he'll get my vote. He's going to get 75%, I just don't know what year, but John Smoltz is going to the Hall of Fame.