IF YOU GO
The Best of Preps banquet is set for June 1 at 6 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center. Tickets cost $50 and can be purchased through timesfreepress.com/BOP. Tables of eight in proximity to the speaker can be reserved for $400. All athletes who were named to Best of Preps teams this school year will receive free admission, and they will not have assigned seating. Those athletes will be notified how to RSVP in the coming days. The deadline to buy tickets is May 27, unless the event sells out before then. For more information, call Casandra Crosby at 423-757-6308.
John Smoltz, the only pitcher to record at least 200 wins and 150 saves in Major League Baseball history, will be the featured speaker at this year's Times Free Press Best of Preps banquet.
Smoltz, who pitched for the Atlanta Braves for 20 of his 21 big-league seasons, has 213 career wins and 154 career saves and will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26.
"It's an honor to be invited to the Best of Preps banquet and recognize the area student-athletes and coaches for what they've accomplished," Smoltz said. "This event is about them. It's about what they've achieved in their respective sports, and it'll be rewarding for me to be on hand to congratulate them."
The banquet is set for June 1 at 6 p.m. at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
SMOLTZ BY THE NUMBERS
Some career highlights by Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee and Best of Preps featured speaker John Smoltz 1 -- National League Cy Young Award (1996) 8 -- MLB All-Star game appearances 24 -- Braves record for most wins in a season (1996) 55 -- Braves record for saves in a season (2002) 154 -- Career saves (2nd in Braves history) 213 -- Career wins (Only pitcher in MLB history with at least 200 wins and 150 saves) 3,084 -- Career strikeouts (3,011 with Braves, a team record)
Smoltz is the only Braves player who was part of the franchise's entire historic run of 14 consecutive division titles from 1991 to 2005. He appeared in 41 postseason games, compiling a playoff record of 15-4 with a record 199 strikeouts. With Smoltz on the mound, the Braves appeared in five World Series, winning the championship in 1995.
"We know lots of our readers have wonderful memories of the standout Braves teams John Smoltz played on," said Alison Gerber, editor of the Times Free Press. "We're excited he'll be here to help us honor our area's finest student-athletes."
Arm injuries eventually led to Smoltz's transition into a reliever, where he became one of the game's top closers. Smoltz underwent Tommy John surgery in 2000, missing the entire season, then became the team's closer for four years, including 2002 when he set the National League saves record with 55, before returning to his role as a starter.
He is one of four former players set to be inducted into the Hall of Fame this summer, joining Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez and Craig Biggio. Smoltz also will join former Braves pitching teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux, as well as former Braves manager Bobby Cox, who were inducted last year. He is the game's first player to be elected to the Hall of Fame after undergoing Tommy John surgery, which involves replacing an elbow ligament with a tendon.
In June 2012 the Braves retired Smoltz's number 29 jersey.
He was a two-sport all-state player (baseball and basketball) at Waverly High in Lansing, Mich., and since his retirement he has worked for Fox Sports as a game analyst and also worked with MLB Network.
Best of Preps is presented by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and sponsored by Memorial Health Care System, the Center for Sports Medicine, First Tennessee and Chattem.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenHargis.