During Leo Mazzone's tenure as Atlanta Braves pitching coach, he schooled the terrific trio of JohnSmoltz, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine. And he might have done a bit more.
In an interview with SiriusXM radio, Mazzone revealed Smoltz used pine tar to doctor baseballs when he pitched.
John Smoltz pitched for the Braves from 1988 to 2008. (AP Photo)Said Mazzone: "One time Smoltzy had it on his shoes and I said, 'John, you can't keep bending over and touching your shoes all the time. Let's put it someplace else!' "
During his 21-season major league career, Smoltz was 213-145 with 3.33 ERA and 154 saves. Twenty of those seasons were spent with the Braves, with whom he won the 1996 NL CyYoungaward. In that season, Smoltz led the NL in wins (24), strikeouts (276) and innings pitched (253 2/3) while posting a 2.94 ERA.
Mazzone didn't mention any other Braves pitchers by name, but hinted that the cheating wasn't an isolated event.
"I know that in my little ball bag I had firm grip and all kinds of goodies to take care of a baseball to get a little more movement on it," Mazzone told SiruisXM.
Mazzone was the team's pitching coach from 1990 to 2005.
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