John Smoltz Excited about Return to Mound
June 24, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under News, Personalities
On Thursday, John Smoltz will return to the mound for the Boston Red Sox. It will not only be his first start of the 2009 baseball season, it will also be his start not for the Atlanta Braves. From 1988 to 2008, Smoltz put together a marvelous 20-year run with Atlanta that saw him win 210 games and save 154 games.
After a bitter breakup with the Braves, the 42-year-old Smoltz ended up signing with the Red Sox as a free agent. Coming back from a shoulder injury, Smoltz has been working all offseason and all regular season to get to this point.
Said Smoltz: “This is not the old or the new or the done. It’s just a new chapter in which when I have a baseball in my hand, I feel like I can make a pitch and do the things I have to do to take the sting out of the bat. And if that’s the case, we’ll progress and keep getting better every time out. But tomorrow is just one rung in the ladder to try and climb as far as I can to see how good I can be, and really at the end of the day to be in position to pitch in the playoffs.”
The playoffs look like a very good possibility for the Red Sox right now. With a record of 44-27, Boston has a five games lead in the AL East over both the New York Yankees and the Toronto Blue Jays.
Smoltz believes that his return to the mound will leave Red Sox fans happy.
“It will be a success,” proclaimed Smoltz.
