John Smoltz Joins TBS as Analyst

NEW YORK — John Smoltz is embarking on a
career as an analyst for Turner Broadcasting and the MLB Network,
although he's not quite ready to say he's thrown his final major league
pitch.

"I know the question comes up: Does that mean
you retired?" the 42-year-old Smoltz said Tuesday. "Officially no. But
in my life when I make a decision about something and I say something,
my whole character is to live by it. At this point I'm not officially
prepared to say I'm done. But that may not mean anything to the degree
that makes me play either."

Smoltz had right shoulder surgery and missed
more than a year before Boston activated him last June. He went 2-5 with
an 8.32 ERA in eight starts, and the Red Sox released him in August. He
then signed with St. Louis and was 1-3 with a 4.26 ERA in seven starts.

He turns 43 on May 15, and he spent the
offseason playing basketball three times a week and preparing for what
would be a 22nd big league season. With opening day less than a month
away, he remains unsigned.

"Obviously, it was a slow offseason free-agent
wise. Certain people derived their conclusions about me, and so be it.
Fine," he said, speaking between swings while playing golf. "It didn't
stop me from working out and doing the things that I love to do. Today
not having a baseball job doesn't bother me one bit."

Smoltz has 213 wins and 154 saves, spending 20
seasons with Atlanta. An eight-time All-Star, he won the NL Cy Young
Award in 1996.

He will work on national telecasts on TBS and
Braves' games on Peachtree TV in Atlanta and will be part of the
postseason coverage. For the MLB Network, he'll announce both games and
in the studio starting on April 5.

Smoltz was a guest analyst for TBS during the
2007 playoffs and broadcast games for Peachtree TV and TBS following
shoulder surgery in 2008.

"In my career I used to think that I could map
out what I wanted to do. Obviously, I had some U-turns and some
obstacles, and overcame most of them," he said. "I stopped mapping it
out a while ago, although I still have dreams and aspirations of one day
playing in the Senior PGA. The one thing I knew in my life: When I walk
from the game, there won't be a tear, a regret, there won't be any of
that."

Coaching doesn't appeal to him. He doesn't
think he has the right personality or philosophy.

"It's just not for me," he said.

Notes

Ernie Johnson Jr., a TNT NBA and golf broadcaster, also will call
baseball for Peachtree TV. He broadcast Braves games with his father,
Ernie Johnson Sr., on SportSouth from 1993-96 and has done occasional
Braves telecasts in recent years. Dick Stockton and Brian Anderson are
also TBS baseball play-by-play announcers; Ron Darling and Buck Martinez
return as analysts; and Dennis Eckersley and David Wells will work
occasional games and be studio analysts during the postseason along with
Cal RIpken Jr., who also will be on the All-Star selection show.