John Smoltz Nearing Deal With Red Sox

I just read that my favorite pitcher in all of baseball is leaving his baseball home, Atlanta Braves to possibly sign with the Boston Red Sox.

According to the report, Smoltz is close to signing a one year $5.5 million contract which also includes incentives of $4.5 million which could potentially generate a payout of $10 million. Granted, that is a lot of money. I realize that baseball is not just a sport any more, but a business.

Where is the tradition? Where is the loyalty? Are teams and players only loyal to themselves these days? Tom Glavine resigned with his longtime team, the Braves, last year. Now Smoltzie is a free agent. Gone are the days of the annual division championship. Now those 4 straight World Series appearance in the 90's are a distant memory.

In a little history lesson, John Smoltz was acquired from the Detroit Tigers in 1987 for pitcher Doyle Alexander. Smoltz is a former Cy Young Award winner. He became a closer in his 13th season and recorded 50 saves. He is one of two players to record the 50 saves and have a 20 win season. The other was Dennis Eckersly.

In joining the Red Sox, the team will have in its rotation: Jon Lester, Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Tim Wakefield, Brad Penny and Smoltz. On paper, that sounds like a great pitching rotation.

I'm a traditionalist. I believe in loyalty to ones team. To see Smoltz in another uniform is unsettling, just as it was to see Glavine in a Mets uniform.

Gone are the days when players remained with their team for their entire career. Times truly have changed.

About the author:
Dare2believe originally published this article at RootZoo.com, where he's often found talking sports, mostly baseball talk. He's an expert when it comes to sports suicide pools as well.