Published Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Smoltz found sucker in Sox

When John Smoltz announced he would be leaving the Atlanta Braves to pitch for the Boston Red Sox, tears flowed from the diehard Braves fans. For me ... not so much.

John Smoltz, along with every other professional athlete, enjoys celebrity status and collects a kings ransom, all for playing a child's game. We tend to hold these mere mortals up as near God-like heroes, but for what? Are they saving lives, fighting fires, healing cancer, teaching our children or negotiating world peace? No, they are merely providing entertainment for the working class as a distraction from real life problems and challenges. Our real heroes are working for minimum wage. Is it just me or have our values turned this into an upside down world?

Smoltz felt unappreciated that his employer, the Atlanta Braves, would require him to actually come to work and pitch in order to earn a potential $12 million payout, unlike the Red Sox, who were willing to give him $10 million just to appear on their roster.

This is a guy who is 42 years old, held together with five anchors in his shoulder, and even the doctors found significant damage when repairing this most recent injury. And Smoltz expects the Braves to fork over $10 million just because he is some kind of hometown legend?

Wasn't it P.T. Barnum that said a sucker is born every minute? Good for John Smoltz (and the Atlanta Braves) that he found one named the Boston Red Sox.

Why can't Smoltz just retire gracefully at the top of his game, like Tony Gwynn of San Diego? Or would he rather be remembered as a greedy profiteer leaving his beloved hometown for easy money? Ask Green Bay how it feels about Bret Favre now.

W.J. Butcher

Newnan