Atlanta Braves’ woes, MLB All-Star Game voting & memories, Nolan Ryan & more

Atlanta Braves’ woes, MLB All-Star Game voting & memories, Nolan Ryan & more

all right pump to be joined Again by the Hall of Famer John Smoltz as I am every single week John how we doing big week for you man big week yeah we got American Sentry championship this week um it’s a must on the calendar it’s like cross it out this is the greatest week of the year for a golfer and uh yeah so I’m pumped up and then and then you’re straight to uh straight to All-Star game from there I imagine yep right to the all AR game this is the first time in a while where the All-Star game is after Tahoe so normally I’m flying in right after the All-Star game so this has been a fun kind of lead up to the all-star game being nice and relaxed and ready to go I would ask which you prefer but I guess that depends on how you play exactly yeah no I I prefer uh winning a tournament which is something I haven’t done yet well let’s let’s talk about the All-Star Game John because as we discussed it is coming up in just a few days you’ll be there on the call with Joe Davis and you know rosters are picked over the next few days we’ll see some of the reserves and all that stuff get announced and changed and all that but for the most part starters are voted in reserves are voted in there’s been a lot of talks about snubs and who should be in and you know the lindors of the world the Christian Walkers of the world the ronell Blancos but I’m not going to talk about snubs what I what I want to talk to you about is the voting process fans fans vote to get players in and then players and coaches get the reserves in from there what what are your thoughts on the current voting process and the way that all stars get selected yeah so you know our sport still has I believe the best best version of any sports allstar game from um from a a standpoint of it’s played almost like the regular season game right where the other All Star games and sports have kind of made major changes and it doesn’t represent the way the regular season you know basketball not even close hockey they’ve spruced it up and found some different ways to bring in excitement I think for for baseball and the voting process there’s always been this sentiment you know especially when there was that change of home field advantage and this time it matters you know do you really need a representative from every team um that might be one of the things that can be tweaked when it comes to the voting process it is the fans game the players for the most part we always know there’s going to be some issues with some injuries and people choosing not to play for the betterment of their team but for the most part you know it’s still a pretty darn good honor and yeah every year there’s going to be um people that don’t get pick that are deserving here’s the one thing I don’t understand maybe because I haven’t paid attention as closely I think this is the earliest I’ve ever seen a roster picked normally it comes up closer to the all-star game um in the past but but this was pretty was like 13 days 14 days before the All-Star game a lot can happen in in 14 days so I’m interested to see what the the future of the All-Star game from the selection committee and you know I I think we’ve talked my favorite All-Star game for the for the world for the baseball would be World versus USA yeah I I just think I just think it’s a must and I know the reason we haven’t done it probably is because of the WBC but I think for all the talk that’s that that that people want to see the allstar game have some more vibrancy or vibrant to it I think that would do it it’s a it’s a no-brainer in my mind uh of representing what we have in our game from a world talent and then what we have in our game from from the USA standpoint I agree I think since the game got rid of the this one matters for HomeField in the World Series which good that’s a good thing that that’s not happening anymore but I don’t think people care about the National League versus the American League and who wins between those two I think they root for whatever side they’re a fan of with of their favorite team but I don’t think it’s a big difference to them on who wins the game you mentioned it for for a second John with the every team gets a a representative thing and you know I’ve discussed this a lot over the last couple of years and in my opinion being an All-Star matters when you look back on a career and and seeing this player was at two All-Star games or five All-Star games or seven All-Star games that sort of stuff matters um and I really look at it as okay I I do understand the process that every team gets a representative because you wanna you want to have every fan base be involved but you know this year for instance are are Colorado Rockies fans really GNA travel to the game or really going to tune in just because their team now has a a representative on it I I I don’t know how much it’s doing I get the process but I think it’s doing more harm to players that aren’t getting in over players that are because of this rule so what what would you say your thoughts are on the every team gets an All-Star Game representative thing yeah again and under the current since they made the switch they went back to that that being always part of the game um and given the fact that you know we’ve had a history of Allstars I think um the way baseball has been situated with the kind of the power teams representing a bigger chunk because they have more players that could potentially be Allstars you have a valid point of you know are we moving in the right direction in that standpoint or do we really want the best players to be at the All-Star Game and represent it so I think it’s a good conversation to have um right now you know the injuries usually went out at the All-Star game we usually talk about who’s not there I wish that weren’t the case um and I think for baseball they got to figure something out down the road from the amount of games that are played the rest that might be needed at the All-Star Game there’s a lot of things you know my desire is baseball could own the week I don’t think they own the week when it comes to the all-star game and what I mean by that is they could have a week off and really promote so many things I’ve talked about have that week off where the Hall of Fame is in that same week where if a regular player wanted to go he could go if he didn’t he could watch it but you think about it the Hall of Fame is always done when every team is playing no current player could ever watch the hall of fame or see one of their you know organizational players wi so I think there’s things that can be done to really own the week football owns the week when it comes to certain things and that’s one thing that when you think about baseball there’s no other sport being played when the All-Star game is played yeah and yet I don’t know if it totally dominates the week I’d love to see that happen you went to eight of them John that’s a lot of a lot of Allstar games when you look back on those when you think back on your All-Star games and your favorite ones and your favorite moments what what comes to mind as your your favorite All-Star Game memory that you were a part of well my favorite one is gonna come down to 96 because I was having a special year um 14 and four in the first half got the chance to start the All-Star Game in Philadelphia um got the win which was pretty cool because I had in my Allstar experiences only up two runs and got two losses so I’m one and two in Allstars when it comes to the timing of when I pitched and the the timing of the run I gave up but there there’s there’s so many cool things that happens when you get there and you see the collection of players that are on your team that you face and you get to pick their brain and you get to have some trash talking if you want but um 96 probably was pretty cool because it was just a special year uh I was wanting to keep that year going and way where um it ended up in a sa young year so it ended up becoming you know my favorite year obviously but yeah at the end of the day um that’s probably the one I remember man the first one the first one you’re never going to forget and and the first one I think we talked about I I was a fish out of water Tommy lorta was the manager and he told me I was going to pitch second and nobody took me down to the bullpen in Anaheim I had no idea where to go how to get there and the veteran pitcher said hey just hang here we’ll take you down cuz back then starters went two or three Innings right so it wasn’t like one and you’re done yeah and and and so I’m sitting there and Big Daddy Rick Russell’s getting he’s getting smoked and I I next thing I know is Tommy Lort gets on the phone and says get SMY up and I’m standing in the Dugout I’m supposed to be in the bullpen and he goes kid what what are you doing and I said I I don’t know how to get down there he goes you got and so I took seven warmup I said it only it won’t take me very long it took me seven warm-up pitches to be in my first All-Star game I obviously got my I got a loss in that game um so the oldest guy Nolan Ryan got the win and I was the youngest guy at the time to ever get the loss so that’s that’s the one I’ll never forget but 96 I want to go with John he hearing the name just makes me think of a story because I I just saw I went down a deep dive of of Nolan Ryan recently uh as in like this week and it was all about how hard we think Nolan Ryan was actually throwing and there’s everything from like 95 to 108 miles an hour where do you think he landed on that I think he was the freak of Our Generation and he threw 100 miles an hour you know look there there’s the thing about the thing about um our our technology is you can Juice It Up the and and have different readings however you want right you can get it as soon as it releases the hand I think the biggest thing that we had back when we were pitching was when it Crossing home plate and that’s what the hitter is going to see and so you know I don’t know how the technology is is is is ramping up the velocity but there’s no doubt the guys are throwing on average way harder than anybody else did in any other era but Nolan Ryan would be right there with everybody today John before we before we finish up this week I gotta ask you about your former the Atlanta Braves the a massive pick by the majority of people to win the NL East um a big pick to to get to the playoffs and to get back to the World Series with how good they they are and how good their roster was obviously a lot changed there with the MVP going down the reigning MVP and then a potential Sai Young Award winner this year Spencer Strider going down but even aside from that the Braves have not been very good and have really for the last month or so month plus been playing pretty much just mediocre baseball when you look at the Braves what’s going on wh why aren’t the Braves as good as even though they had those injuries as good as they should be well you know there was going to be a natural regression offensively even if everyone was healthy but there’s no doubt that the MVP stirs the he stir that that lineup man um he makes it tough on pitchers he wasn’t even having his good year um a lot a lot of last year you could say was a major outlier for how incredible they were they were clicking um Olen is is way below what he was you know he may hit 25 home runs instead of 50 some home runs the guy that’s carrying him has been Ozuna and it’s impossible to keep that up all year but if Riley gets going a little bit and they start getting those collection of two to three guys in the lineup then they have a formidable chance but you’re right offensively they have been a shell of themselves uh it was to be expected a little bit but the injuries have just really taken a toll and then the bottom of their lineup has not really produced much at all where the bottom of their lineup last year was just as good as the top so it’s it’s a big difference on how baseball can be cruel and it’s almost almost impossible when you have a historic offensive season to get close to that the next year if you’re the front office what are you doing at at the deadline the this the Braves front office has seemingly been very methodical over not just this year or last year over the last many years about how they go about things with the contracts they give out and then at the trade deadline the one I think back to is 20121 when you know aunia was already down with an injury you knew you weren’t going to have him and they went and added three or four different players a lot of outfielders but you know not a massive name just names that ended up really helping them win a World Series that year what do you think that front office does this trade deadline yeah it’s a great question if they can cherry pick some pitching but that’s what everybody’s trying to get I mean the biggest thing about the Braves their pitching’s kept them in it I mean Chris S allar Lopez Allstar I mean that those two guys have anchored a rotation that I don’t know if they can sustain that in the second half just based on Lopez hasn’t done it and S has been so injury-prone and Charlie Morton is up there in age so max freed to me is going to be great in the second half but if they can lock down a starting pitcher and or another Bullpen guy but that’s what everyone’s trying to do that would make up for the lack of offense because everybody knows that when the postseason comes around you don’t have to score seven a game but if you can prevent the other team and you can get somebody to run through that Gauntlet lineup of let’s say Philadelphia or the Dodgers you can have a reverse situation happened where the Braves have been the team that had been beaten by the same kind of team that maybe this year they could reverse the fortunes John always appreciate it my friend big week hopefully uh I’ll see you Monday or Tuesday there in Dallas and we’ll be celebrating all right that’s right Champion that’s all I can think of right now Champion let’s go we’re all rooting for you my friend thank you all right see you John all right just wanted to thank John Smoltz for joining us here on Flipping bats as he does every single week and and for me the big one right now is is the All-Star Game and obviously earlier this week on Tuesday’s show talked top three snubs mentioned quite a few more there were a lot of snubs this year some some bigger than others and the reason for that that I think we can discuss so many snubs is because of the way the Voting is set up and the reserves are set up and that every team needs a representative I am certain that some of the snubs that were missed did not get in because of the fact that every team needs a representative and I do get it I do understand you want every team and every fan base to be represented at the allstar game I understand it uh when I was at my first allstar game for this show in in Colorado or yeah I I remember a lot of the teams and having their one rep there and the social media team being there and everybody was just so excited to be involved so I I do get it I just almost I I almost think it’s doing more harm than good and players that deserve to be there there are stats that you can look up and based on the first half that’s who should get in if you’re good enough to be an All-Star you should have that attached to your career forever and ever and right now there are some guys that deserve to be All-Stars that should forever have that that aren’t getting in and maybe that is because of the fact that every team needs a representative but good conversation there with John as as it is every week I my favorite part is just hearing the stories uh his allstar game game stories standing in the Dugout when he was supposed to be warming up in an All-Star Game hearing him by the way that first All-Star Game Nolan Ryan getting the win and then talking to him about Nolan Ryan that is my favorite thing in the world is talking to him about that stuff so thank you all for listening really hope you enjoyed it as much as I did make sure you subscribe wherever you listen to your podcast apple or Spotify you can also watch every single thing we do on YouTube go hit that subscribe button there that really helps and follow us on all social media uh T Instagram Tik Tok Facebook wherever we put some really cool stuff out there so thank you all for listening to this Saturday with Smoltz episode and uh heading off to Dallas in just a couple days for the All-Star game so a lot of fun stuff coming up stay tuned but really appreciate it remember my friends find your bat and flip it peace

Ben Verlander welcomes back MLB Hall of Famer John Smoltz back to the show. Ben and John discuss the Atlanta Braves’ troubles after losing Ronald Acuña Jr. and Spencer Strider for the year. They also discuss whether or not the MLB needs to change the All-Star game voting process and Smoltz gives his favorite All-Star Game memory. Smoltz also discusses Nolan Ryan and what it was like watching him pitch and more!

CHAPTERS:
0:00 – 1:00 INTRO
1:00 – 7:25 SHOULD MLB CHANGE ASG VOTING?
7:25 – 10:00 FAVORITE ASG MEMORY
10:00 – 11:00 NOLAN RYAN
11:00 – 14:50 WHAT’S WRONG WITH THE BRAVES?
14:50 OUTRO

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Atlanta Braves’ woes, MLB All-Star Game voting & memories, Nolan Ryan & more