The National League: where careers find new life. Just ask John Smoltz.
By early August of this year, Smoltz's career had been left for dead. He had tried and failed to catch on with the Red Sox, signing a low-risk one-year contract in Boston prior to the beginning of the season.
He made eight starts, lost five of them, and had an ERA of 8.32 at the time of his release. The Red Sox spent the final two months of the season juggling Junichi Tazawa, Paul Byrd and Daisuke Matsuzaka at the back of their rotation.
Meanwhile, Smoltz shined in St. Louis. And there's a chance that his time with the NL Central champion Cardinals isn't over yet.
Smoltz, who turned 42 in May, wants to stick around. And the Cards aren't opposed to the idea, either.
"He definitely wants to pitch," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa told USA Today last week. "I definitely think he can pitch. It's going to be a matter of economics, and you never get everything you want, but I speak personally that there's a lot to the organizational view that John Smoltz was impressive."
Smoltz was impressive. From his eight starts in 2009 with the Red Sox to his seven with the Cardinals, his ERA dropped four full runs, from 8.32 to 4.26. He was a bona fide middle-of-the-rotation starter on a division champion, something no one could have imagined when watching him at Fenway this summer.
Smoltz struck out 40 batters in 38 innings. He walked just nine, and allowed only three home runs. He looked like the John Smoltz of old.
In a way, he was.
Smoltz has always been a National League guy. The senior circuit is where he became the future Hall of Famer he is — in 20 seasons with the Braves, he established himself as one of the game's elite pitchers with a combination of power and finesse.
When he left the Red Sox and tried to catch on with another team, he knew he wanted to break his way back into the NL. His final two options were the Cardinals and Dodgers, a win-win situation with two division leaders fighting over him.
"St. Louis was just a better personal fit for me," Smoltz told USA Today. "At the time Los Angeles had a bigger stronghold on the playoffs, but I saw what St. Louis was putting together. It was a lot of fun to be a part of. One more run, gosh, that would be great."
One more run. Could it happen?
There's no reason why not. Smoltz wants it, and the Cardinals would be crazy not to. Smoltz is a bargain compared to the rest of the league-average pitchers the NL has to offer.
In St. Louis, Smoltz made just over $100,000, a pro-rated share of the $400,000 league minimum for a quarter of the season. With the Red Sox, he signed for one year and $5.5 million — no league minimum, but still a bargain for a serviceable starter that can still bring it.
With Smoltz, it isn't about the money anymore. After two productive decades in baseball, he's made plenty of it. Smoltz just wants to stick around because he still wants to win, and it looks like he's still capable.
