Day One
John Smoltz: And I’ll never forget being challenged. See, I’m the one that went to, uh, Baseball Chapel every single time. I’m the one that prayed the prayer 500 times. Uh, I wanted to make sure, triple check, double check. I was always doing the things that were surface level to make me feel okay. But it really never was vertical. It was all horizontal.
John Fuller: That’s Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz sharing about his need to really surrender totally and commit his life to Christ. You’re gonna hear his inspiring story over the next couple of days as he shares how God was working in his life for many years. Welcome to Focus on The Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller.
Jim Daly: John, I had this conversation recently at a men’s golf event in Wisconsin. A lot of fun, about 60 guys, and we had a really good time together. Hearing from John and hearing his story about his career and family and spiritual journey. There’s nothing like a former athlete or a current athlete speaking to a group of men. Something magical happens in there ’cause he’s so respected. This guy had a 21-year career in Major League baseball. Mm-hmm. That’s phenomenal. I mean, I think the average is maybe three years. So this guy is somebody you need to listen to about how he would attack the game.
But what was so good is he explains how he attacked life in very much the same way. And the Lord had to get a hold of that and kind of help him to better understand this issue of grace. Uh, this discussion is very timely because, uh, the World Series is about to get underway, and John is the lead analyst for Fox Sports. So if you flip over and watch, uh, the World Series, you’re gonna hear John Smoltz call that game. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did, and I believe there will be a lot of good takeaways for you.
John F.: Let’s go ahead and jump into this wonderful discussion now with John Smoltz on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.
Jim: John Smoltz is Major League Baseball’s lead game analyst for Fox Sports. Former pitcher for the Atlanta Braves. How many years were you with the Atlanta Braves?
John S.: Uh, go, uh, 21 years.
Jim: 21 years. That’s such a long time. Uh, you have, let’s see, 200 wins, 150 saves.
John S.: Yep. 213, 154.
Jim: Eight-time All-Star.
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: And World Series Champion in 1995. I think you went to the World Series five times.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: No, that’s good.
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: That’s good. When you lost, the other team would say, “They played tough.”
John S.: They did. Yeah. We lose every game by one run. It doesn’t matter. But you lose by one, it’s painful.
Jim: And Cy Young Award winner with over 3,000 strikeouts.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: That’s amazing. That is so good. Uh, recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award. That’s a prestigious award for pitchers.
John S.: Well, that one is the most important, in my mind, the most important award you can win. You only win it once. Uh, only one player can win it. And it embodies the work you do away from the field, uh, on what Roberto Clemente meant and what his mission and what he was trying to do. And obviously that’s how he ended up passing away, um, in his endeavors to make life better for other people. So that one to me is, um, probably the, the one I’m most proud of because it really has nothing to do with stats.
Jim: Yeah. It’s about the heart.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: And, uh, you know, John, I think the, uh, the big thing here, we’re at a men’s golf event, and you look at all of that. I love the last point here, which is husband and father who loves Jesus.
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: So, you know, as guys, we just, we dial into titles, achievements. I mean, every guy wants to be that sports guy to win the World Series, throw the, uh, touchdown pass in, uh, the Super Bowl, whatever it might be. You start thinking about that like at seven, eight, nine years old. And in fact, that’s when you started to think about baseball.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: You were like seven.
John S.: I did. Yeah. I grew up in a musical family. That’s a legit picture. Uh, my mom and dad both played the accordion. They were accordion teachers.
Jim: (Laughs).
John S.: That’s how they met. Um, that’s what they did. Family business was pretty strong when it came to the accordion players. They had some world renowned players in my uncles. And so it was a lot of pressure on me.
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: Uh, third generation, maybe fourth generation accordion player. My dad, uh, was in a band for over 60 years. And I’ll tell you-
Jim: Wow.
John S.: The, the one thing about it is, you know, I was four, uh, played ’til I was seven. I won a couple trophies. I don’t remember a lot of it, but they did not put the pressure on me to teach me themselves. They let somebody else, which you think about as a parenting lesson, most of us would’ve taught our children what we know. And they let somebody else do that, which I thought was brilliant now looking back, having children. But yeah, that, I played it, it was disciplined. I had to practice. It was not easy. But fortunately, they allowed me to put it down at the age of seven. Don’t know where this came from, but I told my mom that I was gonna be a Major League Baseball player when I grew up.
You know, I knew what I wanted to be. And my mom is a full-blooded Italian that really knew nothing about sports. My dad had gone to the seminary, uh, but then didn’t finish the seminary ’cause then if he did, this conversation would be really weird. Um-
Jim: (Laughs).
John S.: Uh, and, and was a businessman. And then of course, uh, he played in the band, but they let me do it. And I pursued it from seven years all the way through high school. I’m a self-taught baseball player, self-taught basketball, golf, football, everything self-taught. And they just gave me the opportunity. I think they thought that it would fade away and I’d return back to the accordion. Um-
Audience: (Laughs).
Jim: That was their desire for you.
John S.: That, that was their desire. And, uh, it, you know what? They let me do it. And I, and I’m very thankful for it ’cause it could have been a, an easy decision not to.
Jim: Now, as a junior hire, did you ever get that date with the girl because you were playing the accordion?
John S.: No, no. I’m gonna tell you-
Jim: Didn’t happen?
John S.: I’m gonna tell you my, I know we’re gonna get into this, but my dad taught me a lot of things. And one thing he told me, he is not ashamed or afraid of who he was. My dad was a, uh, one of the greatest salesmen. He owned his own business, but he drove me to school in a Red Maverick that was painted for an adding machine that he was selling in his business.
Jim: (Laughs).
John S.: Picture a Red Maverick with the coil on top of the, the roof and all the numbers added on. He would drop me off at school and thought that was the funniest thing he’s ever done when, of course, playing the accordion wasn’t rough enough on me-
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: Uh, getting dropped off in that at high, at high school was not fun.
Jim: So I, I’ve got, yeah. I’ve gotta ask then, did you borrow the car on your first date?
John S.: No, no, no, no, no. No. That-
Jim: And your date kind of went, “What?”
John S.: He had a horn and a speaker system. He had everything that you could have to, I think, embarrass his children and have a good time with it. But he was a self-promoter, and he promoted himself as he drove the car around town.
Jim: (Laughs) That’s interesting.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: You know, um, I think for guys, again, the ability to get to where you achieved, you know, being a Major League Baseball player, a lot of young boys think about that and dream about it, but to get there, I mean, the cost of that, the intensity to do that. I see that in your golf game. We finished a round of golf. You came back to the putting green and spent like an hour putting balls-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … while we sat there and watched you. Is that, I mean, that kind of commitment to wanting to make your game better, did that start at seven?
John S.: It started at four, honestly.
Jim: Oh, my.
John S.: It started with the accordion. I know it sounds a little cheesy, but it, it, I had to put in all this kind of time and dedication and practice, and my dad showed me the way without ever saying it. He showed me that he was never, you know, he was, he’s one of the hardest worker i… I ever knew. And so it started really early. And so I put in the work and, and the time, and, and this is the thing that I think is lost in today’s, I mean, we’re in a different time with kids and technology and social media and everything, but I blocked out anyone and anybody that was not for my dream.
Jim: Hmm.
John S.: So in high school, you have all those pressures and I eliminated parties. I, I looked at it that in life, that what I was trying to accomplish was such a low percentage success rate that why not eliminate everything that would eliminate me from getting to that point? So I, I viewed everything as a hurdle. And when you’re hurdling, the goal is to jump over the hurdle as much as you can. Sometimes you hit ’em and sometimes you don’t. And I just basically with looking back now, 58 years old, the hand of, of God was on my life of protection in so many ways. And I’ll say it like this.
I was intentional in what I wanted and what I avoided. I was very intentional on my upbringing, how my parents brought me, and the moral fiber and the character they taught me. All of that’s good. And all the dreams and aspirations are good. But if you’re not intentional in staying away from the things and the distractions, you get sucked in just like the world sucks you in in so many different ways. I’m 58 and I’m not exaggerating this at all, and this is why I look at God’s hand in my life.
I lived in a business for 24 years, including spring training. It’s not the greatest lifestyle. There are a lot of distractions. There are a lot of potholes. There are a lot of things that can pull you away from your faith. I was not always a Christian in my baseball career, but I’ve never been in a compromising situation in my life. I’ve never been offered a drug. I’ve never been in a place where you would think that exists every day in our sport. And so the intentionality was one thing, but then also God’s hand was another. And I look back and my children have experienced 10 times more things in life than I, I’ve never seen anyone do drugs. Now what’s the odds of that? And so I’m in a locker room of 25 different personalities. And what I learned was when you establish your circle, when you establish your foundation and your character, those circles don’t intersect with other parts of life that might be cool.
The going out guys, the drinking guys, the guys that might be doing drugs, they don’t intersect. And so that protection served me well. Um, I am a goal-oriented, dream-oriented, shoot for the stars type guy, but I was too consumed for the longest time with the outcome. And I learned in my faith how to separate that and not be attached identity-wise to what I was and who I was and what I did. So that whole journey, when I think back to playing the accordion as a little nerd, um, it served me well. You know? It served me well. My parents gave me guardrails to kind of-
Jim: That’s good.
John S.: … navigate life. And, and luckily, um, you know, I avoided most of the stuff that could have derailed it.
Jim: You packed so much in there. We’re gonna unfold some of that. But with the big leagues, uh, you had a funny one when, uh, I think it was the coming outta the bullpen as a closer.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: And they would play the music for you.
John S.: Yeah. Yeah.
Jim: And you had to select the music, but you didn’t really care.
John S.: No.
Jim: And you told the PR team whatever.
John S.: Yeah. So this is that new way. Now, now it’s commonplace, right? Everyone has a walk-up song. So I had just moved from starter to closer and I was trying to learn this new position. I wasn’t happy about it. And I’m just going to dive in headfirst and figure it out. Well, they came to me in spring training, and they said, “Hey, listen, we’re doing something new this year and we’re gonna give everybody the chance to pick their walk-up song. So when you come to the plate, the song that really gets you motivated and ready to hit or when you come to the mound.” And I said to ’em, I said, “That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: And they said, “No, really, everybody’s kind of getting into it.” And they said, “What’s your song?” And I said, “I don’t have a song, and I don’t need a song.” And I literally said, “I played the accordion when I was little. So what do you, what do you think?”
Jim: You told them that?
John S.: Yeah, I told ’em. I said, “You ain’t gonna-… You’re not gonna play Lawrence Welk when I get out to the mound.”
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: So they said to him verbatim, “I will not be thinking about a song. Play whatever you want. I won’t, I won’t even hear it. I’m coming out of the bullpen trying to get three outs before they tie the game. I will not be thinking about a song.” And they were like, can’t believe it. But I just, I didn’t give ’em a song. So I literally, for the first month and a half, didn’t, I was locked in, never heard the song, never heard what they were playing until this one particular day, uh, come into the mound and Dancing Queen is playing on the loudspeaker. I had the CD. Abba’s one of my favorite bands. It’s not that it wasn’t a cool song, it’s just not a cool song to come in to close the game on.
Jim: (Laughs).
John S.: So in my mind, and the on deck hitter is kind of laughing, and he should, and I’m thinking, all right, somebody made a mistake. Well, I get the three outs luckily. And they come running down and they were apologizing, and they said, “We, you know, da da da da. We didn’t think you were coming in or we hit the right,” I said, “You made your point. I’ll get a song.”
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: And that’s when Thunderstruck was born. And um-
Jim: That’s a good one.
John S.: I’ll be honest. Um, I got into it pretty much.
Jim: (Laughs) It became your song.
John S.: It became the thing. Yeah, it became my song. And Maddox used to go in, we didn’t have the most technical sound system in the locker room, but in the clubhouse, he would go in when I would come in the game and turn it up as loud as he could as lightning would play on the scoreboard, and the place went crazy. And I did, I ended up digging it and uh, uh, it worked out well. But I owe it all to Dancing Queen.
Jim: Yeah. That’s good. That’s good. I think he made a good choice. What do you guys think? Yeah.
John F.: (Laughs) John Smoltz is our guest on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, and that was recorded to, at a men’s event. I hope you’re enjoying the conversation. Now, much of John’s story is captured in his book called John Smoltz, Starting and Closing. Uh, get a copy online, uh, at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. And let’s go ahead and get back to the conversation.
Jim: Hey, let me ask you, spiritually, where are you at through all this? I mean, this is heavy stuff.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: I mean, the big contract and things like that. You’re, you know-
John S.: So, I, I was a Johnny B. Good, tell me what to do and I’ll do it, right?
Jim: Mm-hmm.
John S.: Um, good old Catholic boy growing up, private school. And I just always wanted to be and, uh, liked and accepted. And so I was a rules follower and very, very much a rules follower, oldest child. And I thought being good was good enough. You know? I thought that if you’re a good person, you know, what could be bad about being a good person?
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: And you know, the biggest thing I realized in my first four years, I had some really great mentors trying to pour into my life. In baseball, when you walk in the locker room, there’s three or four different groups of people waiting to capture it. And back then, a hundred years ago, the Christians were waiting to see who they could get. Right? And then the party guys were waiting to see who they could get. It was all these different sections of the clubhouse that you would try to be accepted by. Well, luckily for me, you know, Jose Alvarez, a big, um, supporter of, he works for Lynx now, and he was always a solid Christian. Marty Clary and Sid Bream. And they always poured into my heart.
And I’ll never forget being challenged, see, I’m the one that, I’m the one that went to, uh, Baseball Chapel every single time. That was our church. We couldn’t go to church ’cause we had a game every Sunday. So Baseball Chapel was our church. I’m the one that prayed the prayer 500 times. Uh, I wanted to make sure, triple check, double check. I was always doing the things that were surface level to make me feel okay. But it really never was vertical. It was all horizontal. Right? So I was living my life in what it would be a good person’s mold, but I was having some inconsistencies.
And I’ll never forget Sid Bream catching me off guard saying, “You need to look at how you’re living your life.” I was like, wow, that’s bold. I mean, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. I don’t go out. I mean, I got all these don’ts. But what he was really challenging me with, he says, “You know, a vertical relationship versus a horizontal relationship.” And I asked this one simple question in 1995. So on my first years in 1988 and in ’89, I made the All-Star team. And I was kind of going back and forth, you know, success, not success. To me, if I was successful, I was honoring God. If I wasn’t, I was letting him down. Like it was really a kind of a warped way to think about, you know, the gifts he’s given me and the tools I have, it’s all up to me. I can do this.
And so in 1995, I asked our chaplain at the time, I said, “You know, I’ve, I’ve prayed the prayer. You’ve told me what it means to be a Christian, how to walk this walk.” And I said, “But let me ask you a question.” I said, “What prevents me from living my life the way I wanna live it? And then I’ll have an age that I’ll turn my life over to Christ. Like, what, what prevents me from getting to my, let’s just say it’s 38.” And he gave me an answer that was real simple. He said, “Nothing prevents you from getting that in your life with one tiny exception. You may not get to your target date, so why take that chance?” And it was just the simplest connection for me to say, “I’m gonna put all my trust in Jesus. I’m gonna give him all the junk that I’m trying to carry in my backpack, and I’m just gonna release it.”
And it freed me up in a way that I, I honestly tell this story verbatim. 1995, we win the World Series. This is after ’95. So 1996, I knew I was a different person, and I didn’t go into detail with the reporters on how different I was gonna be at, but I did say, “You’re going to see a different person this year.” And they were like, “How so?” I said, “Whether I lose my first game or win my next 14, you’re not gonna know a difference.” And I believe God was giving me an opportunity to handle success for the first time in my life. I lost my first game, and I won my next 14.
Jim: Oh, man.
Audience: (Laughs)
John S.: And, um, blown away by it. Right?
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: And just that whole journey of, of becoming a Christian and really understanding the freedom of just releasing all of life’s junk. I was carrying it on a backpack.
Jim: Yeah. Yeah.
John S.: And I was freed up on the mound to do some things that, and I think to not conflate it, it’s like being a Christian doesn’t guarantee success or a smooth road. And, but it just so happened that my introduction to that right away started with success.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: I won the Cy Young, I’m having a dream year, I’m 4-0 in the post season going into the last start against the New York Yankees, of which that I’ve completely blocked outta my mind and forgot that we lost one to nothing on an unearned run and 142 pitches.
Audience: (Laughs).
John S.: But-
Jim: Yeah, you might wanna forget about that.
John S.: But I was dealing with things differently for the first time, uh, in my life.
Jim: Let me ask you this, because I think people listening, you’re saying something, last year we had about 292,000 people come to Christ-
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: … through Focus on the Family. And I just want to sit here for a moment, because you said something that most people think about. If I’m good enough-
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: … won’t that be good enough? So let me give you that opportunity to make that clear distinction why works is not what it’s about.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: And you know, listening to you at four years old playing the accordion, you were a man built to work-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … in that way. You had your goals; you were driving toward it.
John S.: Right.
Jim: You are the kind of personality that I think this issue of God’s gift of eternal life-
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: … must be in that context really hard.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: Because I am pretty good-
John S.: No doubt.
Jim: … you’re thinking to yourself. So give it that best shot for the listeners who haven’t fully given that over yet.
John S.: Yeah. So we, our eyes are our measuring stick in a lot of things that we do. And the world can be really confusing when you see certain things. Good is not good enough. That’s what I ended up realizing, that good is not good enough. Good people, um, are a characteristic and a trait you’d want to have in everybody. But the reality is, it’s not about works. And I don’t deserve the grace I’ve been given like we all don’t deserve the grace we’ve been given, that it’s a free gift of life that you get to trust in Christ that I finally understood that it had nothing to do with me. It had nothing to do with my goodness or the fact that I’ve never seen a drug or smoked a drug. You know, I could have been just as lost walking, I, I, I don’t know if this is a fair example or word picture, but I felt like in my life that if there was, there was a fence that I could see over.
And if I was walking down life thinking that Jesus was on the other side of the fence and I knew him, and I would walk in straight ahead, like I know him, he’s right there. But there was still a fence. There was still a fence separating the, the relationship or trusting into him. Like, oh, he’s right there. I’m doing my thing. And then I realized, I gotta eliminate that fence. Like I literally need to get over to the other side to hold his hand, to trust him to the things that he’s given me. And that reality and that setting in was so freeing that being good or good works paled in comparison. Now, it’s a byproduct of what he wants us to do and live out.
He’s given us gifts and spiritual gifts. But I think the biggest thing that I realized is that everything that I was doing, I felt was my responsibility to work towards him. And he was like waiting. It’s like if you could see, another word picture ’cause I love him, as Jesus is sitting on a, on a stool and you’re running a lap and you’re like running and he’s like, “Take another lap.” You know? Like-
Jim: Sounds like a bad coach.
John S.: (Laughs) You know, take another lap. You know? You keep thinking you’re working, you’re getting in shape, you’re, and he is like, “Until you’re empty, there’s nothing you can give me.”
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: And until you’re tired or empty, or I can use you now when you’ve got nothing to give. And that’s the thing I had to get to in a lot of parts of my life. I considered, and I was warned this a long time ago ’cause when you’re on fire and you’re sharing in every church that they want you to share, which can be a mistake when you’re a baby Christian, I was warned, I used to tell people, I have the most boring testimony in the world. And they said, “Don’t keep saying that.” I’m like, why? I said, “It is, it’s boring.” I, I’ve been transformed, but I haven’t been like in my mind transformed from things that you hear all the time. They said-
Jim: Yeah, I’m not a drug addict. All that.
John S.: Yeah. They said, “It will not stay boring.” And boy, were they right.
Jim: Let me ask you this, John. Again, you’re such a interesting person in that regard, your discipline, your ability to achieve something that a lot of people can’t achieve through your goal orientation.
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: When you apply that to becoming a Christian, and you just kind of moved in that direction-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … and gave us a little tip. But I mean, then you apply that kind of goal orientation to your new faith. So you have, I’m gonna save a hundred people today. And you start talking to people about the Lord. Describe that in-
John S.: So there’s freedom, and then realizing that, like I, I believed I always wanna be a warrior, a warrior on the field, and I want to be the guy that always threw the pitch, shot the basket, whatever it was. And then before I became a Christian, I realized that doesn’t soften me from being a warrior.
Jim: Hmm.
John S.: I just have a new set of playing rules. And to honor him in the way that he has given us a good playbook to honor him. I still can be a warrior. I’m still gonna mess up, but I can ask for forgiveness and, and that grace can, can be extended. But to be, um, on a baseball team that every eye is looking at you, when you have something to give to another teammate, like your talent, they love you. They’re like, man, all right. He’s our guy. They don’t really care what you believe in for the most part, as long as you’re athletically giving to the team. Right?
Jim: You’re winning.
John S.: You’re winning. But what I believed my greatest asset was, to be consistent that whether I spoke a word or not, that I was leading people somewhat to like, that’s different. He’s different.
Jim: Mm.
John S.: And I didn’t see everybody like a nail and I had the hammer and I was gonna hammer it into him, but I was, uh, on a mission with my family to speak the truth, to try to make sure everybody understood where I was and what freedom there is in that. And I tried to love on people in a different way because now I’m about to change in the way that things I was wired before, I was truth, truth, truth and nothing but truth. There was no grace.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: And so I had to understand that the combination of the greatest gift that Jesus gives us, he came in truth and grace. He didn’t live in either camp. Like a lot of us live in one camp and it’s not a good place to be. You can be in an all grace camp and there’s not, you gotta have some truth.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: And vice versa. So I was living that out with my teammates trying to be available, but more importantly with my family, really explaining where I was and why I had so much peace. And hopefully, they would see that over time.
John F.: Hmm. This is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, and that was John Smoltz, Hall of Fame pitcher sharing about his faith journey and the impact of a baseball chaplain and some Christian teammates who really kind of, uh, guided and directed his life toward Christ.
Jim: Yeah, John. And we’re just getting started with his story. He’s got a lot more to share about some twists and turns that he experienced as he began practicing his faith in earnest. We’re gonna hear that next time on the broadcast. As a young Christian, he wanted to apply that same tenacity and intentionality that made him a great baseball player, a Hall of Famer, like you said. Uh, he wanted to apply that to his walk with the Lord. But that’s easier said than done. And the Christian life isn’t about a formula. And next time, you’ll learn about some of the difficult lessons the Lord would teach John and how he grew to trust God more than ever. Much of his story is captured in his book called John Smoltz, Starting and Closing, which I think is a great title.
John F.: It is.
Jim: Uh, with a gift of any amount, we’ll send you a copy of the book, uh, for supporting Focus on the Family and helping others.
John F.: Yeah. Donate today, and, uh, when you’re online, be sure to look for our Sports and Faith audio collection. It’s available as a free download and contains John’s story as well as uplifting interviews with Darryl Strawberry, Kirk Cousins, Darrell Waltrip, Ernie Johnson, Scott Hamilton and more. And each one of these, uh, dynamic athletes shares their Christian testimony, uh, and talks about overcoming challenges in life.
This is a great collection for a young person in your family, or perhaps a friend. You can sign up and get the Sports and Faith audio collection on our website, and, uh, also make a donation there and request John’s book, uh, that’s focusonthefamily.com/broadcast, or call for questions and details. Our number is 800, the letter A, and the word Family. 800-232-6459. Thanks for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, inviting you back for more of the conversation with John Smoltz, as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
Day Two
John Smoltz: I’ve just learned… My journey is an incredible journey. I’ve learned a lot. And I’m glad that I’ve learned grace through my children, grace through other things. I’m glad that I can have a better balance and not be stuck in my knee-jerk reaction to go right to truth. And I’m still learning. Like I don’t think we ever arrive. And I think that’s a good thing ’cause he, he wants us to stay dependent upon him.
John Fuller: Insights from Hall of Fam pitcher John Smoltz as he shares about his need to balance grace and truth in his life as he continued, uh, maturing in his walk with Christ. We’re coming back for a second day of conversation with John and more of his inspiring story on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. And I’m John Fuller.
Jim Daly: Uh, last time John Smoltz gave us a look into his childhood and how he set out to become a professional baseball player. I thought it was funny. Last time he said he, you know, raised up the positions and realized if he became a pitcher, he only had to work every four or five days.
John F.: (laughs)
Jim: And that’s a, That’s a great young man’s thought, right?
John F.: It is.
Jim: Wow. – how little can I do?
John F.: Mm.
Jim: But also that drive with perfection. I mean, I saw it when I played golf with him. I mean, he, he works hard at the art of doing athletics. And you could see that even in his golf game. It was very determined, I would say. And, uh, I admire that determination to want to be the best. And it certainly led to a great 21-year career in Major League Baseball. Now he’s the lead baseball analyst for Fox Sports covering the World Series that gets underway tonight. So you can go listen and watch that on Fox Sports. He told us he was raised in a family that went to church, and he tried to do good and avoid many of the traps that ball players fall into. But it was a team Chaplain and some Christian teammates who caused him to think about his relationship with God more deeply. And that’s what led him to give his life to Christ. Uh, go back and hear that first day. If you missed it, download the Focus app so you can get all the great content at your fingertips.
John F.: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And as we get into the rest of the story today, John shares about lessons God has taught him along the way in his faith journey. We left off last time as he was talking about how God was teaching him more and more about the need for grace and not just truth. And that’s where, uh, Jim, you picked up the conversation in front of a group of about 60 men in Wisconsin. And, uh, let’s go ahead and listen in on today’s Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.
Jim: With that, though, there’s a lo- a lot of dads in the room right now. And when you’re the truth, truth, truth, dad, kids can feel like they’ve never heard grace from-
John S.: Yes.
Jim: … your lips.
John S.: That’s right.
Jim: And we miss it as dads. And we tend to lean into that area. We’re the ones, “Wait till your father gets home.”
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: “Then the hammer’s coming down. You want to talk about truth, he’s gonna put it right on your backside.”
John S.: That’s right.
Jim: Right?
John S.: Absolutely.
Jim: So how, how did you, again, how did you move from this truth, truth, truth, orientation to your kids feeling like Daddy loves me?
John S.: Yeah. So that transition, I, I, I think about all the time. What happens to fill in the blank, the person when you’re shocked by something or you didn’t see it coming, how, how do you react? Where do you go? Like when you didn’t see it coming? And there was a lot of things in my life that I didn’t see coming. And they were coming, as I look back now, pretty full, full throttle. And to experience grace and to show grace s- it, it started with my children.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
John S.: I had to learn a lot with some of my children and grace. And it, it progressed into loving them unconditionally instead of trying to change them.
Jim: How could you do that? I mean, that’s a big move. What did they say to you? Or ho-
John S.: I think-
Jim: I mean, that’s a big move-
John S.: It is a-
Jim: … to go-
John S.: … big move.
Jim: … there.
John S.: It is. And, and the life that I lived was not an easy life that I lived. Gone half the time. Um, you know, living in a gated community, trying to give my kids the best protection and life that I could and then setting them up for what would life look like for them. It was a very tough 21 years from a long-term perspective if we didn’t instill that faith and that, that consistency in their life. So I think… And I look back now, my youngest is 25, my oldest is 33, man, I went through the gamut. I had to learn a lot of tough-
Jim: Mm.
John S.: … lessons and I had to ask for forgiveness, and I had to go through forgiveness. And the marinade that I was under, I would’ve eliminated a lot of people in my life based on the pain and hurt that, that happens to you. And that’s what I’m saying, like what do you do when you don’t see it coming? Well, I just learned to lean in more. I learned to trust Him more, and to Jesus. And to, to really put more of that in the right area because I was trusting me for the longest time and trying to do and solve life’s problems by myself. And that’s just not a good way to go.
So I think when your kids see you’re vulnerable and when they see you’re not this person that can’t have hard things happen to ’em. I kind of wish growing up they could see all the hard work I put in. They didn’t, they only just saw the byproduct. They never saw the-
Jim: Mm.
John S.: … the 12 hours-
Jim: The sweat.
John S.: … a week in the gym. I mean they were going to school. Um, they never saw all the hours that I was putting in and starting a Christian school. And I think over time they saw the consistency of a person that didn’t react a certain way when things would happen because you know what you brought up, it’s like we gotta hide it from dad.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: And when you start hiding things and you get division and split in the household, that’s never a good thing.
Jim: John, this is a delicate issue, but it’s happening in our culture. Um, you did go through a divorce.
John S.: Right.
Jim: That’s tough stuff. There’s men in this room that probably have had that experience. It’s not the best, but speak to that low place in your life.
John S.: Yeah. And that’s another moment that I didn’t see coming, and it was the lowest I’ve ever been. I’m a high energy, motivated, um, driven person and there was nothing you could do to motivate me then. And I was going through a lot of rough stuff. And, and the reason… I don’t know to this day how people can do that apart from Christ. I just don’t. I think you can do… Like when you don’t see it coming, the flesh is capable of doing something really stupid and living in that stupidity for a while. And I had to find out a lot about myself in that moment. And, you know, with my kids, um, that was something I didn’t see coming. And what I had to learn is how to walk through something that I was not good at, forgiving.
Jim: Mm.
John S.: I just wasn’t. I think when you’re not having in your mind to have been forgiven a lot, it’s hard to extend forgiveness when you know it, it’s for you. God is-
Jim: You know, if I can interject there, it feels like the older brother of the prodigal story.
John S.: Abs- I mean, that, that is 100% me.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: I mean 100 and my wife corrects me ’cause I used to say I’m the prodigal son. She said (laughs), “No, you’re the brother of the prodigal.”
Jim: The older brother.
John S.: The older brother. Yes. That’s exactly right. You know, and I think that I had to learn through that. And, and that’s when I was the emptiest.
Jim: Mm.
John S.: And I wish I was empty more because I would trust more and lean in ’cause God took me through that place in my life where he literally picked me up and brought me through it to the other side. I have one of the greatest blended families in the world. I have the greatest wife, Catherine, of 16 years now. And you know, I went through it. I mean, I went through the perfect storm. That happened, the economy crashed. I mean, there was one thing after another, after another. And when you’re living a life of perception, perception’s not a reality. And when-
Jim: Yep.
John S.: … you’re a Major League Baseball player that everybody can look up what you made, and everybody can look up what you’ve done, that perception is not always reality. And so during it all, and during, through it, all of it with my kids, I had to ask for forgiveness, and I had to be willing to forgive. And those are two very different things because willingness to forgive something that you don’t think is deserving forgiving is, is, is what God gives us that, that channel to say, “This is for you.” (laughs)
You know, it’s not necessarily for the other person. Sometimes the other person doesn’t even know what they… Like, “Forgive me for what?” And that process, I remember happening in a car driving down the road. And I said, “Lord, if you don’t take me through this, I, I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t know if I can physically-”
Jim: Mm.
John S.: … “say those words.” And there were a lot of situations… I’ll just share one story. I had to speak at a, um, Zig Ziglar conference on, um, motivation in front of 25,000 people. I had agreed a year prior. Oh, I forgot all about it ’cause I’m going through this and nobody knows about to go through this. And you know, this always makes headline news. And so, um, my agent calls and says, “You ready for tomorrow?” And I’m like, “Uh, what’s tomorrow?” And he goes, “Oh, you’re supposed to be at the Omni speaking at 9:00 AM.” Um, I said, “I am?” And I was completely like, I was out of it. I was depressed.
So I walk, I drive down, I meet Zig Ziglar and he tells me that the boxing ring in the middle of the Omni is where you’re gonna speak. You got 25 minutes, don’t go a second over. There’s a clock in the corner. And I am just like, (laughs) “There’s no chance this is gonna work.” He goes, “I’ll take you to the green room.” And I went to the green room. It’s the first time at that time in my life that I completely 100% had nothing.
Jim: Mm.
John S.: And I said, “Lord, you have to show up. I’ve got zero energy. I don’t even know what I’m gonna talk about.” And I, and prior to that, I’d be the… I’m like motivational 101. I could do that in my sleep. And so I literally prayed for about three to five minutes. And when I walked out there, I don’t even remember all of what I said, but when I was done, I looked at the clock and it went 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. And I got a standing ovation and I got in my car and went back to sleep for who knows how long.
Jim: Wow.
John S.: Like, it literally was an example of what people tell me all the time. Like when you’re brought through something. And, and I was completely empty. And I had do that one, one other time. And you know, that showed me everything I needed to know about my trust and my faith and what was gonna happen in the future. And, but when you’re going through it, there’s nothing that anybody can tell you until you experience his grace and his presence. And I wish I experienced it more often. I really do. I wish there was more of those s- scenarios to where I could speak and see, “wow, he picked me up here, he used me here, he did this.” And I’m sure there’s a lot of those that I could look back. But that was the most unbelievable two days of my life.
Jim: You know, again, wh- when you look at the arc of your life, it’s really interesting that you could go from being the big brother of the prodigal story to experiencing the younger brother plight.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: Right? I mean-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … that brokenness. The scripture says He’s close to the broken-hearted and saves those crushed in spirit. But when you’re doing things so well, you don’t experience that.
John S.: Well-
Jim: I should be good enough to get into heaven.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: I’m a good person. And then the Lord goes about, “Well, let me show you.”
John S.: Yeah. And I think people have a hard time being vulnerable. Um, and I think people also accused me of like, “Well, it’s real easy to share Jesus when you have everything.” I said, “No, see, that’s where you’re wrong. If you have everything, you don’t need Jesus. And that’s probably harder.” I said, “It’s when you realize that how much you really-”
Jim: Mm.
John S.: … “don’t have and you need him.” And it’s, it’s that whole, like, you’re weak. You know, the whole culture shifted since I started. And where we are today, it’s… You’re no longer thought of weak. But it’s that strength that we have to have as men to, to lead our family in the midst of all of it. Right? It’s not just in the good. And I’ve been vulnerable enough to realize that even though I’ve been given a platform with a jersey and a Hall of Fame and all that stuff, that all pales in comparison to where I know I’m going. Right? And even in my Hall of Fame speech, I wanted that to not be empty. I didn’t-
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: … I d- I wanted people to know that this is the greatest thing here on Earth. But what I’ve got here on Earth pales in comparison to where… The Hall of Fame I end up knowing I’m gonna go.
Jim: You know, you, you’ve had so many amazing experiences in life. Um, you know, let’s get down to a couple of core things that men should know. Not just the men in this room, but all the men that’ll be listening and all the men that their wives are gonna say, “You need to listen to this.” All that you’ve experienced, and when you get down to it, what are those two or three lessons you’re going, “These are the things to remember guys.” A warrior-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … which achieved, you achieved all the highest accolades. And I’ll tell you what, athletes in our culture, you are the gladiators. I mean, whatever the sport, you make a lot of money doing what you do.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: And no matter how you spend it. But the culture looks to you as superheroes.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: So when you’re looking at that, and then you’re saying, “Okay, but the core thing in this life is Jesus.”
John S.: Yeah. And I think-
Jim: Connect those dots.
John S.: Yeah. The biggest thing is, you know, I wanted to prove fallacies in everything that… Like I wanted to be a warrior. And I wanted to be a warrior for Christ when I realized that that’s my, my mission. And that, you know, the book that we get to read, the good book, the Truth, it’s not a manuscript that we can live out.
Jim: Mm-hmm.
John S.: It’s just not, we need Him to live out the book that tells us how to live it out. Like you can’t do it on your own. And I think the one thing that I’ve learned is that if there’s anything in my life that I’m holding onto or I have to hold onto, I’m running the wrong race. I can honestly say that I’ve, I can let go of everything knowing now that, you know, the faith that I have sustained me. It’s go- brought me through some of the most unbelievable times that nobody would ever know. And it’s allowed my family, um, to get reconnected when there was that brokenness that affects everybody differently. And they understand that if there’s one thing that my kids are saying that dad’s about more than ever is consistency of understanding his faith is going to drive him and be a motivator.
And it’s not about, you know, makin’ the US Open or makin’ the Hall of Fame or doing all the things that I love to do competitively. But I no longer hold onto it, whatever that is, in a way to where it, it replaces what Christ want me to do. And that journey has changed because I can tell you all the things I said I would never do, I’m doing. And I don’t believe that’s an (laughs) accident.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: It’s a reverse bucket list that I (laughs) am checking off that I said I would never… I would never write that book. There is no way I’m gonna write that book. I would never start a Christian school. I would never do this. I would never do that. And I realized that all the things that… If I become more available and I become more, um, readily available for Him better thin- like I think God looks at us to say, “That’s nice. That’s good work.”
Jim: (laughs)
John S.: “That’s… I applaud that.” But I don’t think that… The reality is like, God will use you when you don’t think you can bring anything to Him.
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: You know? And that, we have so many people in the Bible that speak to that. And so I’ve just learned… My journey is an incredible journey. I’ve learned a lot. And I’m glad that I’ve learned grace through my children, grace through other things. I’m glad that I can have a better balance and not be stuck in my knee-jerk reaction to go right to truth. And I’m still learning. Like I don’t think we ever arrive. And I think that’s a good thing ’cause he, he wants us to stay dependent upon him.
Jim: Definitely. So you look at-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … We have a number of young men in the audience here. But you look at the courage that it takes to do that, that warrior attitude that you talked about about baseball. Now you’re trying to apply that in a spiritual context. What word of encouragement do you have for young men, who by the way, are coming back to the church in big numbers right now? Young men, 20-something, 30-something men, they’ve got about a 15% increase in coming to church, which is huge.
John S.: Yeah. I, I think pressure in general is a… I loved it in my sport. Like I love pressure. And I’m not saying everybody is, is gonna be in that category. But the one thing I can tell you and rest a- assured on, and you have to get to in your life, and I thankfully got there, is I’m not going before… I, I could fool everyone right now. Like I could be saying things that are true, but end up failing you when I walk out of this place in two weeks. I’m not going before any of you when I, when I die. Like, we’re not foolin’ (laughs) God and we’re not foolin’ Jesus. So to be bold and to be courageous and all the things outwardly on, on the Earth, that’s fine. But if we’re just jakin’ it, it doesn’t matter. Right? And I had to get to the place where it’s like, I’m not fooling Him. So I’m either trustworthy and steadfast gonna do and march to this way.
And I think it’s, again, easier said than done. It’s not for everybody. Like everybody can’t make the same decisions because ramifications are different. I was in a place… I can’t tell you how many people came up to me and said, “I wish I could do what you’re doing.” They, they just weren’t in position. They were gonna lose their job. They weren’t in a position, you know, when it comes to this subject. I, I tell my kids this literally before it happened. And I said, “Be careful what… You know in life.” I mean, every intention I believe in life was started for good. Even the, the internet was started for good and then evil takes over. Right? It just, it changes things. And I said, “A lot of what life happens is like sittin’ in an ocean in an inner tube and you don’t paddle, you don’t go anywhere, but in 10 minutes you’re a mile or two away.” And life does that to you.
Jim: Absolutely.
John S.: If you’re not careful, like you intend in the right direction, and if you get distracted or you get into a, a pothole, the next thing you know, you are completely in something you never intended to be. And I’ll never forget that because in my life that path has been that way. And there’s been so many, um, opportunities for so many people to get in that, that… I call that, that ocean effect. And, um, you know, the world does it.
John F.: John Smoltz has been our guest on Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. And, uh, that was recorded at a men’s event in Wisconsin. Now much of John’s story is captured in his book called John Smoltz Starting and Closing. Uh, get a copy online, uh, at FocusontheFamily.com/broadcast. And let’s go ahead and get back to the conversation.
Jim: Right at the end here, let’s speak to everybody from a dad perspective. You had a great relationship with your father.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: You talk about the legacy that he left you and your family.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: He passed away three years ago-
John S.: Mm-hmm.
Jim: … which gave you some thought about what legacy do you want to leave. So we’re a bunch of men in this room right now. Talk about your dad’s legacy.
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: And then what, how that has led you to say, “Okay, this is what I want to be about.”
John S.: Yeah. Uh, as I told you, I gave you a little sneak preview. He, he, he was not afraid of who he was and what he did. He would just as soon laugh then cry. And he just had a, uh, a spirit about him that he was gonna work and give you everything he had. He never met a stranger.
Jim: Mm.
John S.: Um, my dad did something that I used to just beg him not to. And I realize now why he did it, you know? But, but he made my first baseball card. And like I said, he handed out his business card everywhere he went ’cause he was a salesman. But he handed out this baseball card every single place he went. And I was in high school, and he would go, “My son’s gonna be in the big leagues I want you to have this.” And I’m like, “Dad.”
Audience: (laughs)
Jim: Those are worse than money today.
John S.: I’m like, “Dad, I’m runnin’ into people and strangers that got these cards.” Like he traveled all the time. But he was proud. And I get that. And then when he passed, I realized, “Okay,” My mom said, “You gotta go through all his stuff.” He kept everything.
Jim: Mm.
John S.: Every single thing. And it ma- you know, almost embarrasses me to think, “Well, we keep it on our phones now. We have the technology.” But he kept every letter, he kept every news clipping, he kept every video. And so I, it took me a day and a half to go through it. But it was, it was very, it was very cool. It was, it was awesome to see. And, and the one thing about being a dad… And you know, sometimes it’s unfair that we view our Heavenly Father like our Earthly father, you know? And if it’s a good relationship, then we view our Heavenly Father in a good way. If it’s bad relationship, then unfortunately you might have that same feeling about your Heavenly Father. And I realized that, you know, in all the way that he brought me up, and he brought me up, like I said, buzzer at the Seminary. And then didn’t feel like that was his calling. And then of course, um, lived 80 years on the, on this Earth.
And I realized his passion for never missing a game, driving 400 miles for a silly baseball game. And I used to tell him like, “Dad, you’re killing yourself. That doesn’t make any sense.” Never missed a game. So when you have kids, you’re like, “Whoa, uh, I get it.” And I can’t imagine what it was like for him to be sitting in game seven in Minnesota watching me pitch that unbelievable game. And the tension and pressure and the pride. Like it was just… And then until I watched my child, you know, playing soccer in college. And I’m like, “This is at level five, that must’ve been level 100.” And he just had a zeal for life. He, he never met a stranger. And he always did things for people. And, you know, obviously I want to pass that forward as much as I can. And he was the guy that everybody loved, and everybody knew.
Jim: Let me ask this last question. The prodigal child, the dads that are struggling because they’re-
John S.: Yeah.
Jim: … late teens or 20-somethings, aren’t in a good place, self-destructive behavior, whatever it might be, what do you do?
John S.: I think that’s where the, you know, a combination of grace comes in and obviously a lot of prayer because, um, I told you my kids experienced things I’ve never experienced. And I was… I told my oldest, I’m like, “I hope you realize that nothing I do in life should define who you are and vice versa.”
Jim: Mm.
John S.: And I think the hardest thing is we’re attached to the outcomes of sometimes that are just not even fair. They’re not an identity of who we are. But we get wrapped up in like, “I’m gonna make sure my child’s this or that.” Or, “If he does this or she does that.” And I had to get to a point where I realized I’m doing the very best I can for you, and I’m gonna pray for you and hope that you get to experience peace. But that whatever you do or whatever I do is not an identity of, of who we are. Like, a bad outcome is not gonna make me feel like I’m gonna wear, you know, a straight coat and put in handcuffs because you’ve done something stupid. And I hope you feel the same way if that ever happens to me. And I think that as a, as a father and being available and understanding that I can do a little bit more of the prayer aspect because, you know, it’s never good to just assume, “Oh, they’re going good and everything’s going good.”
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: That there won’t be attacks and they won’t be pulled. And we all probably know situations where your ch- children are left to go onto college and they’ve come back and you’re like, “I do not know who you are.” (laughs) Um, um, based on what-
Jim: Right.
John S.: … we thought we agreed on. And so, you know, there’s… Obviously, you know, all the studies, but as a father and a, and a leader in the home, that that’s where it starts. And when that’s broken and when there isn’t a father, then there is not a lot of good research that’s being done. And the-
Jim: Mm.
John S.: … blessing to me, the final thought I would give you is my dad did, never got the blessing from his dad. And my dad was super successful, and I know it just killed him. You know? He was out to prove, prove, prove, prove. And I luckily could see that. And breaking that chain, that generational chain in your family of making sure that you give the blessing to your children ’cause if you withhold that blessing based on what happened to you. Or you say, “I’m never gonna be what my dad was,” the likelihood of spinning-
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: … that in is incredible. And I realized that my dad never got that blessing. And I got to speak to him about that saying, “I love you no matter what shape, size, wherever you’re at, whatever you’re going through, that love is not gonna change.” And you know, he had a hard time for a while saying I love you because he never received that-
Jim: Mm.
John S.: … from his dad. And his dad was beloved by everybody. And imagine that dynamic. So I think sharing that blessing and really passing that on to your kids is a, is what I’ve really learned-
Jim: Yeah.
John S.: … to be a vital turn of the switch to what you can see has been going on for maybe a generation or two.
Jim: That’s so good. John, this has been great. I wanna say thank you. Thank you for working so hard as a four-year-old-
John S.: (laughs)
Jim: … and all the way forward so that the Lord could use you to talk about the gospel and about the Lord the way you do so boldly.
John S.: Well, there’s still work to be done.
Jim: Well, and you’re also an amazing golfer. Let’s, uh, thank John for being with us. Way to go.
John S.: Yeah.
John F.: Our guest for the past couple of days has been John Smoltz, a Hall of Fame pitcher, husband, and father. And, uh, wow Jim, there were some great messages in there.
Jim: There were. It was really good, uh, stuff. (laughs) And I don’t mean it as a pitcher. And the men in the room appreciated what John had to share about grace, forgiveness, steadfastness, integrity, trust, and so much more. He reminded us about what really matters as we live for Christ. And if you’ve been inspired by this conversation and ya don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, we have a free online resource called Coming Home that explains what it means to put your faith and trust in a relationship with Jesus. And John’s gonna tell you more in a moment. Then also, we have a copy of his book, uh, John Smoltz Starting and Closing. It shares a lot of his baseball journey, but also more importantly, his faith story. And with a gift of any amount today, join us in doing ministry together. We’ll send you a copy of his book as our way of saying thanks for supporting other families.
John F.: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Donate today as you can, and be sure to look for our Sports and Faith audio collection. It’s a free audio download and, uh, includes today’s presentation, uh, by John Smoltz and also inspirational interviews about sports and the Christian faith, uh, featuring Darryl Strawberry, Kirk Cousins, Darrell Waltrip, Benjamin Watson and others. And you’re gonna wanna share this great collection with a young person in your family or perhaps a friend. You can get the Sports and Faith audio collection and also read that Coming Home article we have about the Christian faith. And get a copy of John’s book, uh, all online at FocusontheFamily.com/broadcast. Of course, you can always call. Our number is 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY, 800-232-6459. Thanks for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. I’m John Fuller, inviting you back next time as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.
