John Smoltz spent two decades in an Atlanta Braves uniform during his storied career, but he nearly left for the Philadelphia Phillies during his peak. And for a perk that had nothing to do with baseball.
That’s right, the Hall-of-Fame pitcher nearly jumped to the N.L. East rivals after winning the 1996 Cy Young Award. Smoltz was in such high demand that Philadelphia tried to lure him by offering the avid golfer a membership to two of the best—and most exclusive—private golf clubs in the country.
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“Philadelphia made me one of the greatest offers that was hard to pass up,” Smoltz said on a recent episode of The Phillies Show. “I thought that it was brilliant in the way they were kind of throwing out Merion and Pine Valley on top of the contract. I’m telling you, when my agent told me that I was like, WHOA.”
Merion and Pine Valley?! WHOA is right!
Pine Valley, of course, perennially sits atop Golf Digest’s America’s 100 Greatest Golf Courses ranking. And Merion is no slouch at No. 6. Watch the clip of Smoltz here.
“I wanted to stay obvioiusly in Atlanta And we were having a hard time negotiating,” Smoltz continues in the clip. “I was a free agent. Of course, New York and Philly were in the mix, but when Philly made that offer, it was like, whoa, I’m going to think about that, because if I’m going to leave, I’m going to leave for that kind of perk.”
And we wouldn’t have blamed you, John. Heck, a lot of Braves fans probably wouldn’t have blamed you.
But Smoltz wound up staying in Atlanta, where his foursomes that included fellow Hall-of-Fame pitchers Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine were legendary. And we’re guessing the Fox MLB analyst has the connections to get onto Pine Valley and Merion when he’s in the Philly area.
Anyway, nice try by the Phillies. But if they can really get that perk for free agents, we’re suprised they haven’t built a dynasty there yet.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
