Atlanta Braves News: The Morning Chop 1/7 John Smoltz Is A HOFer

NJ

MLB Hall of Fame 2015: John Smoltz, former Atlanta Braves great, gets in on first ballot

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note:  On Tuesday afternoon, we learned that John Smoltz would be inducted into the MLB Hall of Fame in his first year eligible.  Smoltz will join The Big Unit, Pedro and Biggio for the 2015 class.  Smoltz earned 82.9 percent of the vote – all you need is 75% of the vote to get into the HOF.

Smoltz will be joined in Cooperstown with his classmates, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnsonand Craig Biggio.

“This was an honor I could not have anticipated when I started playing baseball and even today,” he said.

Smoltz earned entry on the back of a 21-year career in which he was both a Cy Young-winning starter and dominant reliever, all but one year of it in Atlanta.

The Marietta Daily Journal

Schuerholz: We will ‘re-strengthen’ team

Tomahawk Take Editor’s Note:  “So you’re telling me theres a chance!!”  The Atlanta Braves have a so-called plan in place that will eventually make this team much stronger than it could of been in the present.  Schuerholz, John Hart and the rest of the Braves front office have something up their sleeves and we all just have to continue to be patient.  Will the Braves be great in 2015 and make the playoffs?  Possibly not.  But one thing is for sure, the Braves won’t put a team on the field that embarrasses the franchise.

That was the message from Braves president John Schuerholz and assistant general manager John Coppolella at Tuesday’s Vinings Business Association monthly lunch meeting.

“We’ve completely reconstructed our scouting program,” said Schuerholz, who turns 75 this year, his 50th as a baseball executive and his 25th with the Braves. “We’ve already signed some dynamic international players. … We’re going to re-strengthen this organization. We’ve reconstituted it.”

During its run of 14 consecutive division titles from 1991-2005, the Braves organization had a minor-league system that was among the best in Major League Baseball, but the team has won only one division title since then and did not make the playoffs last year. The Braves fired general manager Frank Wren in September and replaced him a month later with John Hart, also the president of baseball operations, signaling the start of some operational changes.

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