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00:00You can pick it up after we talk to John Smoltz.
00:02By the way, you're listening to 95.7 The Game, KGNZ FM and HD1 San Francisco
00:06and Odyssey Sports Station, and the home of the Golden State Warriors and Valkyries,
00:11always live on the free Odyssey app, coming to you live from the Laughing Monk studios.
00:15And John Smoltz, the Hall of Famer, Fox Sports broadcaster,
00:18joins us now on the River Island's guest line.
00:21Joe Spadoni alongside Joe Shasky.
00:23John, good morning.
00:23We'll just bring you into this conversation right now
00:25before we get to the Giants in this baseball season.
00:27You know, Scotty Scheffler won the Open yesterday, his fourth major.
00:32And, of course, what we do in golf, like any other sport,
00:34we're going to compare him to the greatest of his sport, right?
00:36So people are doing the Tiger Woods comparison.
00:38You know, he's 29. Can you get to Tiger?
00:40And, of course, Scotty, he's so gracious.
00:42He pooh-poohs that immediately.
00:44But I just want to ask for you, in your lifetime and you're a Hall of Famer,
00:49who is the greatest player in the history of baseball to one John Smoltz?
00:54Well, you know, we've got some time still to put Ohtani in that category,
01:04but I believe he's going to be in that category before it's all said and done.
01:09It's hard to get Hank Aaron out of my mind, being biased at what he did
01:13and how he did it with all that was going on in baseball at that time
01:19and in the world, you know, there's so many great discussions
01:25when it comes to that kind of player.
01:27But I just, you know, Willie Mays, and I just think that before it's all said
01:35and done, believe it or not, I think Shohei Ohtani will be the greatest player
01:39to ever play baseball based on what he's done
01:43and what he's doing in the face of a totally different game.
01:48Don't get me wrong, a totally different game.
01:51But the game is what it is, and he's mastering two things
01:58that most people dream to just master one.
02:02And I mean, when you bring up that question,
02:05it's hard for me to not talk about next five years, Oshouhei Ohtani.
02:09John, I'm a big fan, always have been of yours.
02:12To go 150 wins, 150 saves, it's just, it's rarefied error.
02:17And so I really appreciate you on these broadcasts
02:19and just your, you know, reverence for the game as a whole
02:22and like the current landscape.
02:24A great player in his own right, Justin Verlander.
02:26I mean, you want to talk about one of the legends of the game.
02:29I mean, he's 0-8 right now with a 4-9-9 ERA.
02:32It has not looked good.
02:34What do you do with Justin Verlander right now
02:38if Buster Posey came to you and said,
02:39John, what should I do here?
02:43You know, that's another great question
02:45because you got to believe that Justin,
02:48I've called him the ultimate 10-speed bike.
02:54What I mean is he's always pitched in gears.
02:56He had, he should be what everybody looks at
03:00for the future of baseball.
03:01Nobody's doing that, right?
03:02So he had 98, 99 when he wanted it.
03:05He opened up at 94 in his prime.
03:08He could go nine innings.
03:10He channeled those gears.
03:12And we all strip gears when we get older.
03:15And he's probably down to a few gears.
03:18And I think, I thought that was the perfect place for him.
03:22I really did.
03:22I know he's coming back from, you know, a couple injuries.
03:25I feel like I was in that boat with Boston and St. Louis.
03:30And it's tough, man.
03:31When you're used to doing things certain ways and adapting
03:36and it doesn't go right, you would think,
03:40and I'm speaking for myself,
03:42I pressed so hard and was so much of a wreck in Boston
03:48that I couldn't believe that I had 21 years prior to that.
03:52Like, it was an out-of-body experience.
03:55I did not have a great shoulder.
03:57I was coming back from shoulder surgery.
03:58I thought I could do X.
04:00And it just didn't work out.
04:01It worked out much better in St. Louis.
04:04But I think a few more starts, I know it sounds crazy,
04:08but I think Justin, depending on his health,
04:11and I know he's had some tough luck,
04:12this is shocking, right?
04:14I mean, this is not what everybody thought was going to happen.
04:19I haven't seen him pitch,
04:21so I can't speak to exactly what's going on,
04:26but I just know what's underneath the hood.
04:28And I know that he's going to do everything he can
04:30to turn it around and make that push if it's possible.
04:35You kind of referenced yourself searching in Boston,
04:38I guess, mentally.
04:39I'm looking at him in the dugout,
04:40and I'm just watching on the television, right?
04:42And he's standing there holding his glove,
04:44and he just had this look of frustration,
04:48maybe sadness, I don't know, being befuddled.
04:53Like, what is he going through right now?
04:55Like, you were there at one point in your career.
04:57What is he going through right now
04:58as someone who has all the pelts on the wall
05:01and is just at a crossroads mentally and physically
05:04and maybe at his career?
05:07Yeah, what he's going through
05:08has never happened to him, ever.
05:09I mean, this is a shock.
05:11I mean, this is something, you know,
05:13you get into a game, you get into a big game,
05:16and you're like, man, I just need to get it out.
05:18And then sometimes you just don't get that out.
05:20And right now, I'm sure pressing for a win
05:23is beyond obvious.
05:25And you start doing things outside
05:27of what you're normally used to.
05:29And, you know, for me personally,
05:31I'll be honest, I got into my first game of Boston.
05:35Now, although be it coming back
05:36from major shoulder surgery,
05:37I wanted to impress them.
05:38They were giving me a chance to pitch
05:40and end my career.
05:42And I didn't know where to put my feet
05:44and the bases loaded.
05:46And I didn't know, I thought I was going to balk.
05:48I put all my weight on the wrong leg.
05:51I was a wreck.
05:53And Veritek came out to the mound and says,
05:55are you okay?
05:56I said, no, I'm not.
05:57I literally can't feel my legs.
06:00I don't know what's going on.
06:01And sometimes it just takes a reset.
06:05And I don't know what that would be for Justin.
06:08But, you know, it takes that not going out,
06:11trying to get that first win,
06:13just going out to execute pitches.
06:15I had to learn the hard way.
06:17I got released by Boston.
06:19I did some things and listened to some people
06:21I should have never listened to.
06:23And when I got to St. Louis, I was freed up.
06:25I pitched great.
06:26I ended my career the way I wanted to.
06:28I know Justin wants to get 300 wins badly.
06:30And he's a first ballot Hall of Famer.
06:35It just, this is one of those things
06:37you just feel like you're in a dream
06:39that's never, it's a nightmare.
06:41And you just need something,
06:43something to shake your way.
06:45And I wouldn't be surprised if he got that on a roll.
06:49I wouldn't be surprised if he got on a roll,
06:51if he could click whatever,
06:52whatever's going on right now,
06:54if it clicks,
06:55then you got the picture that you always hoped
06:59you were going to get from the beginning of the season.
07:00Talking with John Smoltz here on the Morning Roast,
07:03former Braves pitcher, Hall of Famer,
07:04calls games on Fox Sports alongside Joe Davis,
07:06does a great job.
07:07And John, how hard is it,
07:10you know, that transition, right?
07:11Because I don't know if Justin Verlander
07:14or if the Giants, Bob Melvin,
07:15if they're going to, you know,
07:16try him out in the bullpen or not.
07:18But how hard is it going from a starter
07:20and going to a bullpen role
07:23and having it not feel like a demotion?
07:26Because that's immediately what you think, right?
07:27I'm getting demoted.
07:28But it's a whole different skill set, right?
07:30In its own right,
07:31the mental aspect of being a bullpen pitcher
07:34than being a starter is completely different.
07:35But how hard is it for a player of Justin Verlander
07:39if he does go to the bullpen
07:40not to feel like I'm getting demoted?
07:42Well, it's really hard beyond the emotions of it.
07:47It's super hard.
07:48People who are running this game don't understand
07:53and are so unfair to young pitchers
07:56doing that to them all the time.
07:58They just think, ah, what's the difference?
07:59It's like stratomatic baseball.
08:01This guy can do that.
08:02That guy can do that.
08:03They have no idea the emotions
08:04and they have no idea about how hard something is
08:07when you've never done it.
08:08And I honestly was an unfair example
08:11for a lot of young players,
08:13the Jabba Chamberlains,
08:14the guys that got bounced back and forth
08:16because of my example,
08:18which is an unfair example.
08:20I had 14 years of starting.
08:22Then I did it on my own
08:23and went back to starting.
08:25This, from a veteran standpoint,
08:27it's a little easier than it is
08:28from a young player who doesn't have his identity,
08:31doesn't know what to do.
08:33You could rev it up a little bit more,
08:35maybe too much in the bullpen.
08:36And it's not as easy as people think.
08:39And for Justin Verlander at this point in his career,
08:42I would think would be almost very difficult to do,
08:46not impossible,
08:47but he has the experience and knows how to pitch.
08:50Justin knows how to pitch.
08:51What he's trying to learn is his new tool set,
08:54whatever that is in this year,
08:56whether it's his fastball
08:57that doesn't have a little extra carry
08:59or his curveball doesn't have a little extra break,
09:01pitching in San Francisco versus where he's been.
09:04You know, the one thing about pitching
09:06is it's not the same everywhere you go.
09:10You know, certain players, certain mounds,
09:12certain venues,
09:12all the things that hitters will tell you,
09:15I didn't like this backdrop.
09:16I didn't like that stadium.
09:17There's all these factors that nobody puts in
09:20in an analytical, like, this is the answer
09:24that they miss out sometimes on players
09:27and places and why they don't work out.
09:30That's so well said.
09:31But I try to explain, like, playing in fog
09:33on a Tuesday night at AT&T
09:35because I grew up here in the city,
09:37totally different than playing in the valley,
09:3995-degree heat.
09:40Just the ball feels different when you grab it,
09:42the stitchings and everything about it.
09:45You know, so, well said.
09:46We got the legend, the Hall of Famer,
09:47John Smoltz with us,
09:49former Braves pitcher,
09:50does a lot of games for Fox Sports,
09:52did the All-Star game.
09:53What'd you make of the Devers deal?
09:55Buster Posey, big move,
09:57obviously signed Adamas in the offseason,
10:00re-signed Matt Chapman to a big deal.
10:02He takes over the organization, Buster does,
10:05and swings a huge deal for Rafi Devers.
10:08What was your feel for that entire trade?
10:11Well, once I got over the shock of it,
10:14I think it's going to be great long-term
10:15for San Francisco.
10:17There's a lot of things that went wrong
10:19for Boston and Devers.
10:20It got ugly.
10:21It was a bad relationship
10:23that wasn't going to be salvageable,
10:25so they pulled off a monster trade.
10:27They shocked their own fan base,
10:29and I think San Francisco
10:31has been trying for years
10:32to get that big player,
10:33and they got him in a different way.
10:36This year's going to be,
10:37it's going to be interesting
10:38to see how he finishes up,
10:40because there's so much, again,
10:41emotionally that went into this
10:42from Devers' end.
10:44You know, he had a lot of things
10:45that he contributed that are wrong,
10:47and he had a lot of things
10:48that he felt he was wronged by,
10:50and he could be accurate
10:51on both statements.
10:52But I think what Buster Posey
10:54is trying to do in San Francisco,
10:55if I could give him
10:57a big standing ovation,
10:58I would do it,
10:58because he's trying to balance
11:00all the things that the game is now,
11:04what it was then,
11:05and bring both together
11:06and try to have that balance.
11:08And I think in the long run,
11:10San Francisco's going to be way better.
11:12We all know that that one-year
11:14place and plug,
11:16every decision seemed to be right.
11:17They had that unbelievable year,
11:19and then you start thinking
11:21that's the matrix,
11:22and that's the success.
11:23It's impossible to have success
11:24like that every year.
11:26You've got to have stars.
11:27You've got to have players
11:28that play every day.
11:30You can't always have platoon.
11:32You can't mix and match.
11:33You can't make every right decision.
11:35I've said this for years,
11:37and I think people would think
11:38it's crazy coming out of my mouth.
11:40Take a casual fan from the stands
11:43and let him manage a game
11:44and try to lose.
11:47Just try to lose.
11:48Try to make every wrong decision,
11:50and you know what's going to happen over time?
11:52You're going to win some of those games.
11:54It just is not that easy
11:56to think that you have
11:57all the information,
11:58you can make all the moves,
11:59and you can be ahead of the game.
12:01The team from the last place
12:03to the greatest record in baseball
12:05has about a 3% advantage
12:07analytically over the last place team.
12:10So what does that tell you?
12:12It tells you players
12:13and execution win.
12:15Bottom line,
12:16you can have all the smartest people
12:18in the world,
12:19you can have all the greatest technology,
12:21but players have to execute
12:23even if they're put in the best situation
12:25to be successful.
12:27And I think that's what Buster's bringing back,
12:29and I think San Francisco
12:30is not going to go away anytime soon.
12:34I think they're going to be right in the mix,
12:36even with the Dodgers
12:37and all that they spend
12:38and the payroll they have.
12:40Hall of Famer John Smoltz here
12:42on the River Islands guest line,
12:43Spadoni and Chasky.
12:44It's the morning roast.
12:45And John,
12:45we appreciate your time this morning.
12:46One more for you
12:47before you head on out here, though,
12:48because we made some headways here
12:50on the morning roast.
12:51Joe Shasky, my partner,
12:52did ask Larry Bear,
12:53the giant CEO,
12:54about,
12:54hey,
12:55when's the Barry Bond statue
12:56coming to the bay, right?
12:58When are we finally going to get it?
13:00And hopefully,
13:01it's going to be in the works
13:02sooner rather than later.
13:03That's what was discussed.
13:04But I wanted to ask you,
13:06you're a Hall of Famer, right?
13:07We were talking about
13:08the GOAT conversation.
13:09For a lot of people my age,
13:10Chasky's age,
13:11the greatest player
13:12that they've ever seen,
13:14seen, right?
13:14Because we didn't watch
13:15Willie Mays play.
13:16We'll say Barry Bonds.
13:18What do you make of Barry?
13:21And should he be
13:22in the Hall of Fame, John?
13:25Well, I think the biggest thing
13:27that I say all the time,
13:30and I have no evidence
13:31of anything, right?
13:32I've never been around anybody
13:33who said they've taken this
13:35or done this.
13:36And you can follow
13:37the trail of rumors,
13:39and you can follow
13:40the trail of evidence.
13:40But I said this,
13:42and I'll always say this,
13:43Barry Bonds was one
13:44of the greatest players
13:45I've ever played against
13:46for the longest time, right?
13:48I faced him in the early 90s.
13:49I faced him in Pittsburgh.
13:51I've given up
13:52nine home runs to him.
13:53There was never really a time,
13:55you know,
13:55when you're in the game,
13:56you don't look and say,
13:58hey,
13:58I wonder if that guy's
13:59bat's corked,
14:00or hey,
14:01I wonder if that guy's
14:02doing something.
14:02You're trying to survive the game.
14:04When you look back,
14:05and you're done,
14:06and you see the evolution of it,
14:08maybe that's when you go,
14:09oh, okay,
14:10things change,
14:11body composition change.
14:13But I'm telling you
14:14that what Barry Bonds
14:15did early in his career,
14:16he could do anything he wanted.
14:17He could steal 50 if he wanted,
14:19hit 50 home runs,
14:20hit for average.
14:22This dude changed
14:23the landscape of a lineup,
14:26changed the landscape
14:27of the game,
14:28and then people around him
14:30started becoming,
14:31they started getting
14:32more attention,
14:33they started getting
14:34more national,
14:35and I think that's
14:36when things changed.
14:38You can say
14:39there's not a lot of evidence
14:41for this or that.
14:42When it comes to
14:43the Hall of Fame,
14:44the thing that I've always said
14:46is that
14:47when people play
14:49on that diamond,
14:51and they do authentically
14:52what you need to do
14:53to play and earn
14:54those numbers,
14:56then those voters,
14:57which we don't get a vote,
14:59those voters
15:00have a job to do
15:02to try to figure out
15:03who and what
15:05is deserving
15:06of the Hall of Fame.
15:07And when people
15:08answer questions
15:09or don't answer questions,
15:10then you're put
15:12in a very tough decision
15:14to make that,
15:15as a reporter,
15:17make that decision
15:18or be that judge and juror.
15:19I've always been consistent.
15:22I've said from the day one
15:23that right is right,
15:25and when does right
15:26become less right?
15:27And if things are tainted,
15:28then no,
15:29they should not be allowed.
15:31And the problem
15:32with that statement
15:33that I make
15:34is I think you all,
15:35and everyone can guess
15:36that there are probably
15:37some people in the Hall of Fame
15:38that did have some tainted stuff.
15:42And that, for me,
15:43is a shame.
15:44But the process
15:46is the process.
15:48I know for me,
15:49when I put my head
15:50down the pillow
15:50every single night,
15:52that I know
15:54I played with character,
15:55I played with the utmost
15:57integrity of the game,
15:59and I do not physically
16:01have any evidence
16:02about anybody doing something,
16:05so it's hard for me
16:06to speak 100%
16:07on that issue.
16:09It's an issue
16:10that I thought,
16:11by the way,
16:11we would not be talking about
16:12in the last 15 years,
16:14and all we've seen
16:16is evidence of people
16:17still being tempted
16:19and using things
16:20they shouldn't be using
16:21and getting suspended.
16:22I can't wait for the day
16:24that we never see a player
16:26get suspended again,
16:27and I hope that happens.
16:29Yeah.
16:29John, you said something
16:30earlier in the interview,
16:32and just on the way
16:33out the door,
16:33I do a lot of coaching
16:34here in the area.
16:36There's a lot of young kids.
16:37They just want to throw
16:38the ball through a bat,
16:39and I'm like,
16:39you just pitch to contact,
16:41and I see the misses
16:42at the big league level.
16:43It feels like they're
16:44bigger than ever.
16:45Guys are missing
16:46in the dirt
16:47all over the place,
16:48and just pitching
16:50in general,
16:50if you were to talk
16:51to a bunch of kids
16:52today,
16:53because you referenced it
16:55with the Verlander
16:55conversation,
16:56what would be
16:57some of your advice
16:58to a bunch of
16:5910, 11, 12, 13-year-olds
17:01high schoolers
17:02right now
17:02in just the philosophy
17:04of pitching for a young kid?
17:06Well, my advice
17:07would not be listened to,
17:09and the reason
17:09it won't be listened to
17:10is the reward system
17:11at the big league level
17:12has jacked this thing up.
17:14They know it's a problem.
17:15They're not doing
17:15anything about it.
17:17We have, and I have
17:18for 10 years,
17:19said that injuries
17:20are coming,
17:21and they're irreversible,
17:22and nobody cares.
17:23So until the reverse
17:24system comes,
17:26and you start rewarding
17:27players for being healthy,
17:29then my advice
17:29has always been consistent.
17:31Year-round baseball,
17:33never do it.
17:34Throwing as hard
17:35as you can,
17:35you should never do it.
17:36If you have a gift
17:37of an arm,
17:38and you get into high school,
17:39trying to throw 95
17:40is the wrong time
17:41to do that.
17:42People just are trying
17:44to manufacture
17:45these Adonises
17:47that stand on the mound
17:48and don't know
17:49where it's going
17:49but are going to get rewarded,
17:51get signed,
17:51and get a contract.
17:53Baseball is trying
17:54to blame youth baseball.
17:56It's an upside-down triangle.
17:57It is not accurate.
17:59It's baseball's job
18:00to change the reward system.
18:03Analytically,
18:03they've fallen in love
18:04and are addicted
18:05to velocity and spin,
18:07and if you're addicted to it,
18:08you want more of it,
18:09not less.
18:10And if you don't know
18:11what to do
18:11with those people
18:12that are going to break down,
18:14you get more people
18:15to fill the gap.
18:16I'm saddened
18:18by the greatness
18:19and the unbelievable arms
18:21we have in the game,
18:22and no one has escaped
18:23Tommy John.
18:24We are acting
18:25as if it's a Band-Aid
18:26and it's no big thing.
18:28So the advice
18:28that I've been saying
18:29for 10 years,
18:30people look at me like,
18:31John, you're crazy.
18:32You don't understand.
18:33This is how you get drafted.
18:34And I can't argue with that.
18:36So until baseball
18:37starts looking
18:38at reversing the trend
18:40and having a competitive
18:41advantage to keeping
18:42the pitchers healthy,
18:43and instead of a 1.7 ERA,
18:46have a 3.5 ERA.
18:48Nothing wrong with that.
18:49But keeping them healthy
18:50will have a long-term benefit
18:52to the game.
18:53So youth kids,
18:55I tell parents all the time,
18:57and again,
18:57they don't,
18:58I spent almost five minutes
19:01in my speech
19:02talking about it
19:03at the Hall of Fame
19:04because I'm passionate
19:05about seeing kids
19:06stay healthy.
19:07Arms are breaking.
19:08Elbows are breaking.
19:09Tommy John's are happening
19:10and they just keep
19:11doing the same thing
19:12over and over again
19:13expecting different results.
19:15It is insane
19:17how this industry
19:18has now looked at it
19:20and gone,
19:20oh well,
19:21there's nothing
19:22we can do about it.
19:23Next man up.
19:24So if I'm a father
19:26of a 13-year-old
19:27that has a gift
19:28and can throw already
19:3085 miles an hour,
19:31I am not letting him pitch
19:33throughout the summer
19:34at will.
19:35It's a gift.
19:36You don't have to,
19:38you're never going
19:38to forget,
19:39but the more they throw
19:40and the more intensity
19:42and more competitive
19:43throw that young man,
19:45the higher risk of injury.
19:47And so that's my answer
19:50that nobody ever listens to
19:52and I just sit back
19:53and have to watch
19:54the next guy
19:55and the headlines go,
19:56Tommy John,
19:57Tommy John,
19:58Tommy John,
19:58and I hope it changes,
20:00but I don't see it.
20:00I don't see it changing
20:01anytime soon.
20:03Wow.
20:03Great stuff, John.
20:04We can feel the passion
20:05in your voice right there
20:06when it comes to
20:06this subject matter
20:07and it's true.
20:08It's too many injuries
20:10I'm seeing.
20:10I feel like Jacob DeGrom
20:12is like the poster child
20:13for this where I kept saying
20:14and more like he won Cy Young's
20:16but even still,
20:17I was left wanting more
20:19because the amount of injuries
20:19some of these guys keep having
20:21when it comes to the velo
20:22and stuff like that.
20:23But John,
20:23really good stuff this morning.
20:24We greatly appreciate the time.
20:26We'll do it again soon, man.
20:27All right,
20:28I'm going to leave you
20:28with this real quick.
20:2913-year-old top five
20:31baseball players in your county.
20:33No one will ever do this.
20:34But take the top five
20:3513-year-olds
20:36and pay the families
20:37for two years
20:38to not play that sport.
20:40And when they're 15,
20:42they're still going to be
20:42the top five.
20:44There you go.
20:45We're going to do that
20:45with you, Joe.
20:46How about that?
20:46I work with baby LJ.
20:47I mean, look, John,
20:49you're preaching
20:49to the choir here,
20:51so I appreciate you
20:52saying that.
20:52It's insane.
20:54I'm a big fan
20:55of John Smoltz.
20:55He was the best.
20:56That was great.
20:56That was really good stuff.
20:57Former Braves pitcher,
20:58Hall of Famer,
20:59calls against Fox Sports,
21:00John Smoltz.
21:01And if you missed any of that,
21:02you can hang up
21:02in the middle of his...
21:03No, no, no.
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