The Legends of My Youth: A Fond Farewell to the Big Three

This has been a very up-and-down baseball season. No, not only because my Atlanta Braves have been terribly inconsistent all season long. Not just because of all the latest steroid allegations. Not because future legends such as A-Rod, Manny Ramirez, and David Ortiz have been outted as “users.”

I consider this an up-and-down season in large part because the legends of my youth are leaving the game.  

It began early this year when Greg Maddux announced he was retiring from baseball. Growing up a Braves fan who lives and dies with every play I was able to witness Greg Maddux throw every fifth day for 10 seasons.

I was in the stands for many of those brilliant outings that Maddux used to notch regularly.  

Greg Maddux was quite possibly the greatest baseball player of this generation. The comparisons to Cy Young are reason enough to make this a logical statement. His 17 consecutive 15-plus win seasons surpassed Young’s 15 consecutive such seasons.

How about Maddux’s four straight Cy Young Awards from 1992-95? How about his 355 career wins, or his lifetime 3.16 ERA? Is that enough for you to believe he’s the greatest player of this generation?  

While recently looking at Maddux’s career stats I remembered many a brilliant start the man had in Atlanta. In the Braves lone World Series winning season in Atlanta, 1995, Maddux went 19-2 with a 1.63 ERA.

Do you realize how rare that type of season is? Will we ever see someone go 19-2 with such a miniscule ERA again? Randy Johnson went 18-2 that same season but his 2.48 ERA was nearly a run more than Maddux’s.

Throw in the fact that MadDog, as he is affectionately known to most Braves fans, had his best years at the height of the “steroid era” and those stats become even more spectacular.  

The second face on the Mount Rushmore of Braves pitchers is that of Tom Glavine.

Glavine was the only homegrown member of “the big three.” His 14-8 mark in 1988 was remarkable considering the Braves lost 100-plus games that season. Glavine won the Cy Young in Atlanta’s worst-to-first 1991 season and again in 1998.  

Atlanta’s own “Tom Terrific” won 20-plus games five times in his Atlanta career. That would be the most in Atlanta Braves history. Looking back in Braves franchise history the only Brave with more 20-plus win seasons was that guy named Spahn. He had 13. Maddux only won 20 one time in a Braves-uni.

Glavine was as consistent a pitcher as you could find in the National League for many years. He donned the Braves uniform from ’87-’02. A lot of Braves fans still have not forgiven him for spurning the team in order to accept slightly more money from the hated Mets.

I’ll admit I had a hard time with it as well, but nothing can erase the great memories “Glav” provided in Atlanta.  

His performance in Game 6 of the ’95 World Series provided Atlanta with its only world title since moving to Atlanta in ’66. He one-hit the Indians through eight innings of the 1-0 Braves victory.

I remember watching him get his 200th victory in Atlanta back in ’00. I was also watching on Sunday night baseball as he won his 300th with the Mets in ’07 at Wrigley Field.  

Glavine, now nothing more than a shell of his former self, was unceremoniously released this season by Frank Wren to make way for the newest future-legend, Tommy Hanson. While I can’t agree with the way that it happened, it was time. Glavine was done last season.

John Smoltz was the nearest and dearest of “the big three” to me. Smoltzie was and still is my favorite Atlanta Brave of all time. So it’s understandable that when he left Atlanta my baseball soul was crushed.

I hoped he’d retire a Brave and eventually come back to manage the team in the near future (of course that was a dream, I have no clue if Smoltzie wants to coach or manage).

Smoltz was the most recognizable Brave for many years. His bearded face was the face of the franchise because he was the only one of the three to stay in Atlanta for a lower salary during the lean times of the Time Warner ownership era.

Coming to Atlanta via a deadline trade for Doyle Alexander in 1987, Smoltz became the third of the vaunted trio. Perhaps Smoltzie is best known and remembered for his postseason mark of 29-21 with a 3.18 ERA. He was always clutch in the big games.

One of the fondest memories I have of Smoltz is the final game of the 1991 season when he and catcher Greg Olsen ran and jumped into each others arms after the improbable clinching of the division to secure a spot in the NLCS (there was no wild card in those days and the Braves were in the NL West).

In 1996, Smoltz won his Cy Young award with a 24-8 record and a 2.94 ERA. That season should have been capped off with a World Series title, but the bane of my baseball existence, Jim Leyritz, brought the Yankees back from the brink of sure elimination with a Game Four homerun against Mark Wohlers. Gives me nightmares to this day.

Smoltz began experiencing arm problems in ’98 when he went 17-3. After another World Series loss to the hated Yankees in ’99 Smoltz had Tommy John Surgery for the first time. He would miss all of the ’00 season.

When he came back he went to the bullpen hoping to prolong his career. Not only did he prolong it by becoming the Braves closer, he also solidified his spot in Cooperstown.  

Having already won 157 games as a starter, Smoltz saved 154 games in his four seasons as the team’s closer—including a team record 55 saves in ’02.

The next season Smoltz saved 45 games and had a 1.12 ERA. He was virtually unhittable in the ninth inning that season. Smoltz faced a bevy of arm injuries during this time as well missing multiple games at a time.

Still Smoltz longed to start games again. He longed to have the ball in his hand in a crucial postseason game. He got his chance. Smoltz was added back to the rotation in ’05. He went 14-7 that season, with a 3.06 ERA. Not bad for a guy who hadn’t started a game since 1999.

Smoltz won his 200th game in ’07 against the New York Mets. The opposing starter that night—Tom Glavine. To say that was neat is a terrible understatement. It was one of the highlights of my baseball life. I watched him strike out his 3000th hitter in ’08, just before a shoulder injury cost him his career—or so I thought.  

When the Braves “low-balled” the legend this past offseason with a contract he called “insulting” I was horrified at the thought of Smoltz being in another uniform. Ultimately I was satisfied with this development as I thought all along that Smoltz was done as a baseball player.

I had hoped that he and Glavine would both retire to start the season so the big three could all go into the Hall of Fame together, but it was not to be.

Those thoughts were confirmed this week when Smoltz was hammered for the fifth time this season playing for the Boston Red Sox. Just one day after that shellacking at the hands of the mighty Yankees Smoltz was designated for assignment; basically cut from the roster.  

Sure, I got a little miffed at the bearded-one for derogatory comments he made about the Braves during the offseason, but he’s still one of the best in my mind. He’s still my favorite Braves player of all-time. Part of me would love to see the Braves add him to the bullpen of this team, but I know that’s not going to happen.

The best case scenario for me is to see Frank Wren sign him to a one-day deal to allow him to retire a Brave.  

So here we are. It’s time to say farewell to three of the greatest pitchers I have ever watched play the game.

In five years when Glavine and Maddux go into Cooperstown together it will be a bittersweet day. Bittersweet only because Smoltz will not join until a year later. How awesome would it have been to see all three go in together? Maybe someone can petition the Hall to allow it. I doubt it, but still a dream come true if it happens.  

Braves fans we were quite lucky to witness the 15-year run of Braves divisional dominance. Without these three those years never would have happened. They created the blueprint for successful franchises for many years to come. Pitching wins games.

With the three going away for good it’s time to shift our focus to the next generation of pitching stars in Atlanta.  

Jair Jurrjens, Tommy Hanson, and Kris Medlen are sure to be a part of that great future. While they may not end up like Maddux, Glavine, and Smoltz they sure are good reason to hope and maybe even re-live those glory days.

Thanks for all the memories MadDog, Glav, and Smoltzie. We’ll never forget what you did for the team we love—the Atlanta Braves.