BoSox Injection
Fansided

Red Sox all-time washed up player All-Star team (part two)

By Drew Athans

Boston Red Sox outfielder Rickey Henderson scores on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning as New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada (L) catches the ball too late, 2 June 2002 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. AFP PHOTO/Matt CAMPBELL (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL / AFP) (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images)
Boston Red Sox outfielder Rickey Henderson scores on a sacrifice fly in the top of the first inning as New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada (L) catches the ball too late, 2 June 2002 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY. AFP PHOTO/Matt CAMPBELL (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL / AFP) (Photo by MATT CAMPBELL/AFP via Getty Images) /
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ARLINGTON, TX – JULY 20: Pitcher John Smoltz #29 of the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 2009 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TX – JULY 20: Pitcher John Smoltz #29 of the Boston Red Sox on July 20, 2009 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

John Smoltz

Another Hall of Famer who spent his final season in a Red Sox uniform, John Smoltz was one of the best pitchers of the 1990s and early 2000s. He was one-third of one of the greatest rotations in baseball history, teaming up with Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine on the Atlanta Braves to win seven division titles, five National League pennants, and a World Series in the 1990s.

Smoltz pulled the trick of being not only a great starting pitcher but, for a short spell of time due to injuries in the middle of his career, a great closer as well. He finished his career with 213 wins, 154 saves, and over 3,000 strikeouts. Those numbers all made him a no-doubt Hall of Famer, but they were all racked up well before he got to Boston.

He spent the first twenty seasons of his twenty-one year career with the Braves before singing a one-year free agent contract with the Red Sox for the 2009 season. He was coming off of shoulder surgery but had impressed the Red Sox enough during an offseason workout that they decided to take a chance. It didn’t end up working out.

Smoltz made eight starts in the 2009 season, going 2-5 with an 8.33 ERA and only 33 strikeouts. After getting shelled in his final start for the Red Sox in August, the team designated him for assignment. He refused a minor league deal or a switch to the bullpen, so they released him. He spent the last month and a half of the season with the St. Louis Cardinals before retiring at the age of forty-two.

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