John Smoltz

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1988-2009)

John Smoltz was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009 for the Atlanta Braves, the Boston Red Sox, and the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 22 seasons. Across 723 career appearances, he went 213-155 with a 3.33 ERA, 3,084 strikeouts, and 154 saves. He also batted .159 with 5 home runs. John Smoltz was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015 and was a 8-time All-Star, a Cy Young, an NLCS MVP, a Silver Slugger, a Reliever of the Year, and a Roberto Clemente Award. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 91906.5.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

⭐ Hall of Fame 2015
W–L 213–155
ERA 3.33
WHIP 1.18
SO 3,084
Pitcher PIV 91906.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 210 lb
Born
5/15/1967 in Detroit, MI, USA
MLB Debut
1988-07-23
Last Game
2009-09-30
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2015 (BBWAA)
Awards
8× All-Star · Cy Young · NLCS MVP · Silver Slugger · Reliever of the Year · Roberto Clemente Award

Full name: John Andrew Smoltz

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Career Pitching Statistics

John Smoltz — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
213 155 723 481 53 16 154 3473.0 3,074 1,284 288 1,010 3,084 3.33 91906.5

Career ERA 3.33 vs. league average 4.28 across their career seasons — 22.3% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Smoltz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1988 ATL NL 2 7 12 12 0 0 0 64.0 74 39 33 37 5.48 3.73 (-47%) -2481.6
1989 ATL NL 12 11 29 29 5 0 0 208.0 160 68 72 168 2.94 3.71 (+21%) 3026.1
1990 ATL NL 14 11 34 34 6 2 0 231.1 206 99 90 170 3.85 3.86 (avg) 1325.0
1991 ATL NL 14 13 36 36 5 0 0 229.2 206 97 77 148 3.80 3.91 (+3%) 2367.2
1992 ATL NL 15 12 35 35 9 3 0 246.2 206 78 80 215 2.85 3.75 (+24%) 5027.1
1993 ATL NL 15 11 35 35 3 1 0 243.2 208 98 100 208 3.62 4.19 (+14%) 2414.0
1994 ATL NL 6 10 21 21 1 0 0 134.2 120 62 48 113 4.14 4.51 (+8%) 1565.3
1995 ATL NL 12 7 29 29 2 1 0 192.2 166 68 72 193 3.18 4.45 (+29%) 5787.6
1996 ATL NL 24 8 35 35 6 2 0 253.2 199 83 55 276 2.94 4.61 (+36%) 13129.2
1997 ATL NL 15 12 35 35 7 2 0 256.0 234 86 63 241 3.02 4.39 (+31%) 9072.5
1998 ATL NL 17 3 26 26 2 2 0 167.2 145 54 44 173 2.90 4.43 (+35%) 7466.7
1999 ATL NL 11 8 29 29 1 1 0 186.1 168 66 40 156 3.19 4.71 (+32%) 7563.8
2001 ATL NL 3 3 36 5 0 0 10 59.0 53 22 10 57 3.36 4.42 (+24%) 1713.9
2002 ATL NL 3 2 75 0 0 0 55 80.1 59 29 24 85 3.25 4.28 (+24%) 3855.7
2003 ATL NL 0 2 62 0 0 0 45 64.1 48 8 8 73 1.12 4.40 (+75%) 4661.4
2004 ATL NL 0 1 73 0 0 0 44 81.2 75 25 13 85 2.76 4.46 (+38%) 3624.7
2005 ATL NL 14 7 33 33 3 1 0 229.2 210 78 53 169 3.06 4.29 (+29%) 6123.5
2006 ATL NL 16 9 35 35 3 1 0 232.0 221 90 55 211 3.49 4.53 (+23%) 6579.3
2007 ATL NL 14 8 32 32 0 0 0 205.2 196 71 47 197 3.11 4.47 (+31%) 6793.0
2008 ATL NL 3 2 6 5 0 0 0 28.0 25 8 8 36 2.57 4.32 (+41%) 1392.2
2009 BOS AL 2 5 8 8 0 0 0 40.0 59 37 9 33 8.32 4.32 (-93%) -625.3
2009 SLN NL 1 3 7 7 0 0 0 38.0 36 18 9 40 4.26 4.32 (+1%) 1525.3
Career · 22 seasons 213 155 723 481 53 16 154 3,473.0 3,074 1,284 1,010 3,084 3.33 — 91,907

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

John Smoltz — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
735 948 77 151 26 2 5 61 3 79 365 .159 .226 .207 .433 -5,555

Career AVG .159 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 39.6% below league average.

Career OBP .226 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 32.0% below league average.

Career SLG .207 vs. league average .413 across their career seasons — 49.9% below league average.

Career OPS .433 vs. league average .745 across their career seasons — 41.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Smoltz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1988 ATL NL 12 17 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 8 .118 — — — — 0.0
1989 ATL NL 33 62 6 7 1 1 1 6 0 6 23 .113 .254 (-56%) .319 (-40%) .375 (-44%) .694 (-42%) -412.1
1990 ATL NL 38 74 7 12 2 0 0 4 1 6 32 .162 .257 (-37%) .324 (-31%) .385 (-51%) .710 (-42%) -476.2
1991 ATL NL 38 65 7 7 3 0 0 3 0 5 28 .108 .255 (-58%) .323 (-47%) .384 (-60%) .708 (-54%) -553.9
1992 ATL NL 36 75 7 12 0 0 1 4 0 6 32 .160 .255 (-37%) .322 (-31%) .377 (-47%) .699 (-40%) -451.4
1993 ATL NL 35 71 2 13 1 0 0 4 1 9 24 .183 .265 (-31%) .332 (-17%) .403 (-51%) .735 (-36%) -387.1
1994 ATL NL 21 37 6 6 1 0 1 1 0 4 14 .162 — — — — 0.0
1995 ATL NL 29 56 5 6 0 0 0 1 0 7 25 .107 .266 (-60%) .337 (-39%) .417 (-74%) .755 (-58%) -533.7
1996 ATL NL 35 78 3 17 3 0 1 12 0 3 26 .218 .269 (-19%) .340 (-26%) .426 (-31%) .767 (-29%) -386.6
1997 ATL NL 36 79 10 18 3 0 0 4 1 9 22 .228 .266 (-15%) .336 (-9%) .419 (-37%) .756 (-24%) -295.5
1998 ATL NL 26 51 4 10 1 0 0 5 0 8 16 .196 .266 (-26%) .335 (-6%) .420 (-49%) .755 (-30%) -218.6
1999 ATL NL 29 62 11 17 4 0 1 7 0 5 28 .274 .271 (+1%) .344 (-2%) .433 (-11%) .778 (-7%) -64.6
2001 ATL NL 36 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
2002 ATL NL 75 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
2003 ATL NL 62 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
2004 ATL NL 73 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2005 ATL NL 33 68 1 10 2 1 0 3 0 3 26 .147 .264 (-44%) .330 (-45%) .418 (-51%) .749 (-48%) -546.0
2006 ATL NL 35 64 5 8 3 0 0 4 0 4 27 .125 .269 (-54%) .336 (-48%) .431 (-60%) .768 (-55%) -592.5
2007 ATL NL 32 54 1 5 1 0 0 2 0 1 19 .093 .268 (-65%) .335 (-68%) .422 (-74%) .758 (-71%) -636.6
2008 ATL NL 6 8 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 BOS AL 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 — — — — 0.0
2009 SLN NL 7 13 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .077 — — — — 0.0
Career · 22 seasons 735 948 77 151 26 2 5 61 3 79 365 .159 — — — — -5,555

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

John Smoltz — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
42 56 3 12 1 0 0 2 3 19 .214

Playoff Batting by Year

John Smoltz — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
2009 NLDS1 SLN 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2005 NLDS2 ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2004 NLDS2 ATL 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000
2003 NLDS2 ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2002 NLDS1 ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2001 NLCS ATL 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
2001 NLDS1 ATL 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 NLCS ATL 3 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1999 NLDS1 ATL 1 3 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 .667
1999 WS ATL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1998 NLCS ATL 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .200
1998 NLDS1 ATL 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .500
1997 NLCS ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1997 NLDS2 ATL 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000
1996 NLCS ATL 2 7 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 3 .286
1996 NLDS1 ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1996 WS ATL 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
1995 NLCS ATL 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .333
1995 NLDS1 ATL 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1995 WS ATL 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1993 NLCS ATL 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 .000
1992 NLCS ATL 3 7 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 .286
1992 WS ATL 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000
1991 NLCS ATL 2 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 4 .200
1991 WS ATL 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

John Smoltz — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
15 4 41 27 4 209.0 172 62 67 199 2.67

Playoff Pitching by Year

John Smoltz — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
2009 NLDS1 SLN 0 0 1 0 0 2.0 4 1 0 5 4.50
2005 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 7 1 1 5 1.29
2004 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 2 0 0 5.0 4 0 2 4 0.00
2003 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 2 0 1 3.0 4 2 0 1 6.00
2002 NLDS1 ATL 0 0 2 0 0 3.1 2 1 2 7 2.70
2001 NLCS ATL 0 0 2 0 0 3.0 0 0 0 1 0.00
2001 NLDS1 ATL 0 0 3 0 2 4.0 3 1 0 3 2.25
1999 NLCS ATL 0 0 3 1 1 8.2 8 6 0 8 6.23
1999 NLDS1 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 7.0 6 4 3 3 5.14
1999 WS ATL 0 1 1 1 0 7.0 6 3 3 11 3.86
1998 NLCS ATL 0 0 2 2 0 13.2 13 6 6 13 3.95
1998 NLDS1 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 7.2 5 1 0 6 1.17
1997 NLCS ATL 0 1 1 1 0 6.0 5 5 5 9 7.50
1997 NLDS2 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 3 1 1 11 1.00
1996 NLCS ATL 2 0 2 2 0 15.0 12 2 3 12 1.20
1996 NLDS1 ATL 1 0 1 1 0 9.0 4 1 2 7 1.00
1996 WS ATL 1 1 2 2 0 14.0 6 1 8 14 0.64
1995 NLCS ATL 0 0 1 1 0 7.0 7 2 2 2 2.57
1995 NLDS1 ATL 0 0 1 1 0 5.2 5 5 1 6 7.94
1995 WS ATL 0 0 1 1 0 2.1 6 4 2 4 15.43
1993 NLCS ATL 0 1 1 1 0 6.1 8 0 5 10 0.00
1992 NLCS ATL 2 0 3 3 0 20.1 14 6 10 19 2.66
1992 WS ATL 1 0 2 2 0 13.1 13 4 7 12 2.70
1991 NLCS ATL 2 0 2 2 0 15.1 14 3 3 15 1.76
1991 WS ATL 0 0 2 2 0 14.1 13 2 1 11 1.26

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1458 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

John Smoltz — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home3704463678335.175
Away3655024173226.145

Pitching — Home / Away

John Smoltz — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home3631760.0154664349815383.29
Away3601713.0152864151215463.37

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Smoltz — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
2009-09-30 STLCINL 100000001
2009-09-23 STLHOUL 100000010
2009-09-18 STLCHCW 200000002
2009-09-08 STLMILW 200000001
2009-09-03 STLMILL 200000000
2009-08-28 STLWASW 200000001
2009-08-23 STLSDPW 311000000
2009-08-06 BOSNYYL 000000000
2009-07-31 BOSBALW 000000000
2009-07-26 BOSBALL 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

John Smoltz — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
2009-09-30 STLCIN L 4.0666531
2009-09-23 STLHOU L 6.0522050
2009-09-18 STLCHC — 6.0622340
2009-09-08 STLMIL — 5.0633071
2009-09-03 STLMIL L 6.0644061
2009-08-28 STLWAS — 6.0411160
2009-08-23 STLSDP W 5.0300090
2009-08-06 BOSNYY L 3.1988432
2009-07-31 BOSBAL W 6.0855022
2009-07-26 BOSBAL L 5.0966161

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Smoltz — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 723 481 320 433 28 30

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Smoltz — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1988 ATL P 12 12 4 6 0 1
1989 ATL P 29 29 23 32 7 2
1990 ATL P 34 34 26 27 3 4
1991 ATL P 36 36 15 34 1 1
1992 ATL P 35 35 23 26 1 3
1993 ATL P 35 35 29 23 0 1
1994 ATL P 21 21 10 18 1 1
1995 ATL P 29 29 12 18 2 0
1996 ATL P 35 35 27 27 1 2
1997 ATL P 35 35 29 31 2 2
1998 ATL P 26 26 12 20 0 2
1999 ATL P 29 29 9 30 1 3
2001 ATL P 36 5 8 7 1 0
2002 ATL P 75 0 11 11 0 0
2003 ATL P 62 0 4 6 0 1
2004 ATL P 73 0 9 9 0 0
2005 ATL P 33 33 22 31 0 4
2006 ATL P 35 35 20 33 2 1
2007 ATL P 32 32 19 29 3 1
2008 ATL P 6 5 2 3 3 0
2009 BOS P 8 8 4 7 0 1
2009 SLN P 7 7 2 5 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Smoltz Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 723

Awards & Honors

John Smoltz — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
2007 Branch Rickey Award
2005 Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
2005 Player of the Week Week of 2005-06-25
2005 Roberto Clemente Award
2004 Player of the Week Week of 2004-07-31
2003 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2002 MLB Players Choice Comeback Player
2002 MLB Players Choice Man of the Year
2002 Reliever of the Year Award
2002 TSN Reliever of the Year
2002 This Year in Baseball Closer of the Year MLB.com GIBBY
1999 Pitcher of the Month April
1997 Player of the Week Week of 1997-08-08
1997 Silver Slugger P
1996 Cy Young Award
1996 MLB Players Choice Outstanding Pitcher
1996 Pitcher of the Month April
1996 Pitcher of the Month May
1996 TSN All-Star RHP
1996 TSN Pitcher of the Year
1992 NLCS MVP

Salary History

John Smoltz's recorded salaries total $135,595,446 over 21 seasons, 1989 to 2009. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Smoltz's career ran from 1988 to 2009. No salary is recorded for 1988.

John Smoltz — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
2009 BOS AL $5,500,000
2008 ATL NL $14,000,000
2007 ATL NL $8,000,000
2006 ATL NL $11,000,000
2005 ATL NL $9,000,000
2004 ATL NL $11,666,667
2003 ATL NL $10,666,667
2002 ATL NL $7,666,667
2001 ATL NL $8,000,000
2000 ATL NL $8,500,000
1999 ATL NL $7,750,000
1998 ATL NL $7,750,000
1997 ATL NL $7,000,000
1996 ATL NL $6,000,000
1995 ATL NL $4,894,445
1994 ATL NL $3,250,000
1993 ATL NL $2,700,000
1992 ATL NL $1,600,000
1991 ATL NL $355,000
1990 ATL NL $210,000
1989 ATL NL $86,000
Total recorded salary (partial) $135,595,446

Award Voting History

John Smoltz — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
2007 Cy Young Award NL 6th 2.0 160 0
2006 Cy Young Award NL 7th 3.0 160 0
2004 Most Valuable Player NL 21th 6.0 448 0
2003 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 9.0 448 0
2002 Cy Young Award NL 3rd 21.0 160 0
2002 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 124.0 448 0
1998 Cy Young Award NL 4th 10.0 160 0
1996 Cy Young Award NL 1st 136.0 140 26
1996 Most Valuable Player NL 11th 33.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

John Smoltz (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Derek Lowe
    176-157, 4.03 ERA
  2. 95
    Ryan Dempster
    132-133, 4.35 ERA
  3. 87
    Ian Kennedy
    104-114, 4.16 ERA
  4. 87
    Charlie Hough
    216-216, 3.75 ERA
  5. 86
    Lefty Grove HOF
    300-141, 3.06 ERA
  6. 85
    Wilbur Wood
    164-156, 3.24 ERA

Compare John Smoltz

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Smoltz's closest peers by position and era.

vs Roger Clemens
vs Cy Young
vs Greg Maddux
vs Walter Johnson
vs Randy Johnson
vs Pedro Martinez

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

See John Smoltz in Another Era

What would Smoltz's 1992 season look like in a different era's run environment? Try the cross-era translation with a live slider.

Translate John Smoltz's peak season across eras →

John Smoltz: the record in brief

The profile opens with John Smoltz's first major league game on July 23, 1988; the last one listed came on September 30, 2009. The season rows list, in order, the Atlanta Braves (1988 to 2008), the Boston Red Sox (2009), and the St. Louis Cardinals (2009). Smoltz played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on May 15, 1967, in Detroit, MI, USA and a listed size of 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds. On the record, John Smoltz was born John Andrew Smoltz.

Across 723 games (481 starts), Smoltz recorded 213 wins against 155 losses with a 3.33 ERA. The totals include 3,084 strikeouts, 53 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 154 saves. The leagues Smoltz pitched in allowed 4.28 earned runs per nine over those seasons, so the career ERA was 22.3% better than average. The best win total was 24, in 1996. Smoltz saved 55 games in 2002, the season high.

Frequently Asked Questions about John Smoltz

What years did John Smoltz play?
John Smoltz played in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009.
Was John Smoltz a pitcher?
Yes. John Smoltz pitched in the major leagues, recording 213 wins and 3084 strikeouts.
How many home runs did John Smoltz hit?
John Smoltz hit 5 career home runs with 151 hits.
Is John Smoltz in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. John Smoltz was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
What teams did John Smoltz play for?
John Smoltz played for 3 teams: the Atlanta Braves (1988–1999, 2001–2008), the Boston Red Sox (2009), and the St. Louis Cardinals (2009).
How many Cy Young Awards did John Smoltz win?
John Smoltz won 1 Cy Young Award, in 1996.
What awards did John Smoltz win?
John Smoltz won the Cy Young Award (1996) and the Silver Slugger award (1997). He was selected to 8 All-Star Games.
What were John Smoltz's career stats?
In 723 games, John Smoltz went 213-155 with a 3.33 ERA, 3,084 strikeouts, 3,473.0 innings pitched, and 154 saves. At the plate he had 151 hits and 5 home runs.
How much did John Smoltz earn in his career?
John Smoltz's recorded salaries total $135,595,446 over 21 seasons, 1989 to 2009. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Smoltz's career ran from 1988 to 2009. No salary is recorded for 1988.
What was John Smoltz's salary?
John Smoltz's last recorded salary was $5,500,000, in 2009. His highest recorded salary was $14,000,000, in 2008, and his lowest was $86,000, in 1989. The Salary History table lists each season from 1989 to 2009.
What position did John Smoltz play?
John Smoltz played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was John Smoltz and how much did he weigh?
John Smoltz was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 210 pounds.
What was John Smoltz's career ERA?
John Smoltz finished with a 3.33 career ERA, going 213-155 with 3,084 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did John Smoltz have?
John Smoltz recorded 3,084 career strikeouts.