Starting and Closing: Perseverance, Faith, and One More Year

By John Smoltz and Don Yaeger

John Smoltz was one of the greatest Major League pitchers of the late twentieth / early twenty-first century—one of only two in baseball history ever to achieve twenty wins and fifty saves in single seasons—and now he shares the candid, no-holds-barred story of his life, his career, and the game he loves in Starting and Closing.

A Cy Young Award-winner, future Baseball Hall of Famer, and currently a broadcaster for his former team, the Atlanta Braves, Smoltz  delivers a powerful memoir with the kind of fascinating insight into game that made Moneyball a runaway bestseller, plus a heartfelt and truly inspiring faith and religious conviction, similar to what illuminates each page of Tim Tebow’s smash hit memoir, Through My Eyes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: May 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062120557

John Smoltz

John Smoltz is a former Major League Baseball pitcher and active sportscaster. He is best known for his prolific career of more than two decades with the Atlanta Braves, during which he garnered eight All-Star selections and received the Cy Young Award in 1996. He is currently the chairman of King's Ridge Christian School in Atlanta and is a scratch golfer. (Tiger Woods has said that Smoltz is the best golfer outside of the PGA tour.) He lives in Atlanta with his family.

Reviews for Starting and Closing

[threadnsong · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found this book to be a very well-written, insightful autobiography of a gifted athlete who is a very humble man. Full disclosure - I've had an interest in Smoltz' career since I found myself in PT with him during the 1994 baseball strike and found him to be a nice, polite, quiet guy who was a whole lot bigger than he appeared on TV. Watching his career, the World Series (and their disappointments) and his transition into the role of closer as well as the difficult (disastrous) parts of his career have all been worthwhile.And Smoltz concentrates on this final year as pivotal to his life. He was in his 40's when he finally retired and has spent years since then as a baseball commentator. He tells his life story a few chapters in, and is honest about his "challenges" with the press, the Braves' GM, John Schuerholz, and the importance of golf for the starting pitchers of the Braves' 1990 line-up. The tales from the road are great, the various tales on the golf courses with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine are laugh-out-loud hilarious, and help bridge the gap between the Smoltz-Maddux-Glavine hero-worship and their various human foibles. And here I thought I was the only one who couldn't remember the names of people I've just met!Smoltz is honest about his own shortcomings and about his conversion to a strong Christian faith. The former are dealt with in more detail than the latter, for which I am grateful (too many books get bogged down in "I accepted Jesus Christ into my life and . . . " on every page when the conversion happens). He is honest, funny, and definitely relatable as a fellow human being who just happens to have an intense focus and a throwing arm that reached speeds of 100+ MPH throw after throw and season after season until it couldn't. I wish him continued success as he re-invents his life and goals.

[bookchickdi · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

John Smoltz is one of the best pitchers to ever play major league baseball. For over twenty years he pitched for the Atlanta Braves, chosen eight times for the All-Star team and winning the Cy Young Award for best pitcher in 1996.He pitched in the starting rotation for fourteen years when an injury caused him to move to the bullpen and become a relief pitcher. After three years in the bullpen, he asked to rejoin the starting rotation. Many people, particularly in the sports media, asked him why he did this. His response: Why not?Smoltz begins the book with three things people need to know about him:1. All he ever wanted to do was win2. He's not afraid to fail3. He never did anything in his baseball career just to set a record, or to be able to say that no one else has done what he has doneSmoltz lived in Michigan, and his grandfather worked at the Detroit Tigers stadium. Young John grew up going to Tigers games, and he loved the Tigers. He was thrilled to be drafted by his hometown Tigers to play baseball, and disappointed when they soon traded him to the Atlanta Braves.His disappointed turned to happiness when he realized that the Braves were willing to work with him, that they valued their young players and worked hard to make him a successful pitcher. (The Braves are known for their excellent farm system.)Injuries plagued Smoltz throughout his career, and he pushed his body through the pain, hoping to avoid Tommy John surgery, which could end his baseball career. He eventually had the surgery, but with his amazing work ethic, he began a grueling rehab program and came back to pitch again, although as a closer.As a person who worked best with a steady routine, Smoltz found it difficult to get used to the unpredictability of being a reliever. As a starter, he knew which day he would pitch, so his mind was set. He could play his favorite hobby, golf, on his off-days. He said that "by going to the bullpen, I sacrificed two things that really helped me tick; knowing what was coming and feeling like I was in control."Besides baseball, two other things motivated Smoltz: golf and being a born-again Christian. He described the moment he knew that his relationship with God had to change, and how his life changed for the better because of it. He soon became a popular speaker at 'baseball church' gatherings, and later founded a Christian school in an Atlanta suburb.Now that he is retired, Smoltz has set his sights on joining the Champions Tour in golf , and Tiger Woods has said that publicly that Smoltz is the best amateur golfer he has seen. Smoltz frequently played golf with his pitching teammates, Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, and you can feel the joy on the pages where describes their bonding over golf.Smoltz was not re-signed by the Braves after twenty years, and he joined the Boston Red Sox for a final season. He describes the sadness he felt at leaving the team he helped to bring to 14 post-season playoffs, although with only one World Series title. I found his analysis of the toll that pitching in so many consecutive post-seasons took interesting, and I have to say it never occurred to me how damaging it could be.Boston was a disaster, and Smoltz was happy to be picked by up the St. Louis Cardinals after the Red Sox released him halfway through the season. He was happy to be able to contribute to the Cardinals playoff run, but wistfully says that he wished he could have ended his career in Atlanta.Starting & Closing is not your typical sports memoir; Smoltz really concentrates on his last season, sprinkling little parts of his life throughout. You get a real feel for what makes this intriguing man tick, why he was so successful in baseball although plagued with injuries, and how his changed relationship with God made him a better man and a better pitcher.