John Smoltz was an All-State baseball and football player at Waverly High School in Lansing, Michigan before the Detroit Tigers selected him in the 22nd round of the 1985 amateur draft [REF].
Smoltz played initially for the Class A Lakeland Tigers minor league team, and then moved on to the Class AA Glens Falls Tigers in 1987, posting disappointing records of 7-8 and 4-10 [REF].