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.
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, ref