John Smoltz, the broadcaster, has been a popular punching bag among MLB fans for quite some time, for mostly justifiable reasons. The bottom line with Smoltz is that he refuses to adapt to the modern game and consistently complains about things he doesn’t like about it. This was on full display during Sunday’s Dominican Republic win during the World Baseball Classic.
Bullet point summary by AI
- The World Baseball Classic has been a showcase of thrilling moments and emerging talents.
- John Smoltz criticized the modern approach to hitting, arguing against the emphasis on launching balls high.
- His persistent negativity and outdated views clash with the excitement of the tournament.
John Smoltz is so hard to listen to on the WBC broadcast. Trying to say that most players arent trying to hit line drives and are just trying to launch the ball high into the air. Couldn’t be more wrong on today’s game.
— Cardinals Stats And Facts (@STL_Stats_Facts) March 8, 2026
John Smoltz consistently misses the boat on modern analytics
The Dominican Republic hit three home runs in a three-inning span, leading Smoltz to say players don’t want to hit line drives and only want to hit the ball up in the air. To be clear, these home runs included a line drive clocked at 115.8 mph and traveled 424 feet off Junior Caminero’s bat, and a walk-off home run by Juan Soto. These are fun moments for everyone other than Smoltz, who has to let his own narrative ruin everything.
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) March 8, 2026
What makes his opinion worse is that, as the Twitter user above pointed out, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Yes, the goal for MLB players nowadays is to hit the ball in the air. Why wouldn’t it be? Are you not more likely to do damage by hitting a ball in the air than on the ground? Where Smoltz is wrong is that line drives are seen as an optimal outcome in the modern game. Line drives are, quite literally, hit in the air. Caminero’s home run was hit on a line.
Players are trying to hit the ball hard and in the air. Doing this gives you the best chance to get a hit or even hit a home run. You can get lucky by having a ground ball sneak through somewhere, but you’re a lot more likely to have a positive result by hitting the ball hard and in the air. Smoltz, for whatever reason, refuses to either realize or accept this.
John Smoltz continues to bring unnecessary negativity to the WBC
The World Baseball Classic is almost universally considered to be a great tournament full of positivity. Sure, only a select few of the 20 countries have a chance, but who didn’t enjoy watching a 17-year-old get Aaron Judge ground into a key double play? Who didn’t enjoy watching Manny Ramirez’s son hit two home runs in a game? Who didn’t enjoy watching an electrician strike Shohei Ohtani out in the 2023 WBC? I’m not going to say Smoltz didn’t enjoy these things, but in a tournament full of positivity, Smoltz brings nothing but negativity.
It’s not as if this was his first time bashing the modern game during the WBC. In 2023, not only did Smoltz refuse to acknowledge that pitchers face a penalty when facing hitters for a third time (despite every metric available suggesting so), but he was also ignoring the game played right in front of him.
I love to rip on Smoltz, because he rightfully deserves it. So here’s some tea.
I used to provide Smoltz and his broadcasts with data. Smoltz’s group never requested Statcast data because he didn’t understand it.
He didn’t understand it because it always said he was wrong😂 https://t.co/UdYGOjgVBT
— Pitch Profiler (@pitchprofiler) March 14, 2023
Smoltz is a Hall of Fame pitcher and he does, at times, bring value to the broadcast. It’s always interesting to hear what former players would do in certain spots. With that being said, it’s infuriating to listen to a broadcaster who clearly dislikes and doesn’t understand the modern game. Smoltz fits into that boat.
There’s a reason why even casual MLB fans who aren’t plugged into analytics don’t like him. Constant negativity gets old and boring quickly, and it adds nothing of value. Thankfully, the mute button exists, because having to listen to Smoltz complain during entertaining WBC games really does suck the fun out of the experience.
