Smoltz speaks at FCA Breakfast of Champions

Apr. 7—MLB Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz was in Meridian on Friday to give a speech at the Greater Meridian Fellowship of Christian Athletes' sixth Jackie Slay Breakfast of Champions. Smoltz spoke about his religious background and his Hall of Fame career at the event, which was held at the Riley Center.

"When I think about what I've done in my life and who's poured into my life and impacted me, I just can't help but pass it forward," the former Braves pitcher said. "It's just speaking wisdom of people who have impacted me for the good and the glory of God."

Breakfast of Champions

Greater Meridian FCA Area Director Dalton Smith said that the Breakfast of Champions is an opportunity to showcase the FCA's ministry and what the organization does with athletes and coaches on campuses in the area.

More than 30 student-athletes from Lauderdale, Kemper, Clarke and Jasper Counties were honored as the FCA's Champions of Character at the event.

"We ask either the FCA sponsor or their coach to nominate a male and female athlete every year from each of our 15 schools, so we end up with 30 Champions of Character," Smith said "These are students that play the game the right way. They live with integrity, serving, teamwork, excellence, really all of the FCA values."

Cal Culpepper of Clarkdale High and Claire Thornhill of Enterprise High were named the Mark Bryan Athletes of the Year at the Breakfast of Champions.

"It means a lot that people would think of me to be the Athlete of the Year because I love sports, and I love baseball, but my witness and showing Christ is the biggest thing," Culpepper said. "It means so much to me, and it's an honor that somebody would think of me like that."

"It means a ton just because of the impact the FCA has had on my life just this past year, and the whole high school," Thornhill said. "It is such an honor and such a blessing, and I'm super thankful."

Southeast Lauderdale boys basketball coach Centel Truman won the Mac Barnes Coach of the Year Award.

"I just thank God and the community for their support, my administration and my family," Truman said. "It's truly a blessing. I know basketball is my job, but God is my life, so for me to get this award is a great honor for me."

Smoltz said he's known for his athleticism, but he also wants to be known for making an impact. He said he's passionate about speaking to young athletes, which FCA allows him to do. His piece of advice to those young athletes is to never be afraid to fail.

"There's so many athletes that lose opportunities to be great because they're afraid to fail," Smoltz said. "Failure is a motivator for me, but it's not for everybody, and I just try to explain how that works out because we want to all be champions, not only in life but in our field that we're in, but there's a pretty good formula to live by; if you're not afraid to fail, you'll experience growth."

Smoltz on MLB

Smoltz also spoke to members of the media in attendance about pitching, the Braves, and about recent MLB rule changes.

The most notable changes to the MLB this offseason include the introduction of a pitch clock, changes to defensive shift rules, limits on pickoff attempts and bigger bases.

"I'm looking forward to every rule change that's happened," Smoltz said. "It's going to impact the game in a positive way, already has. You're going to see athleticism, you're going to see defense that you haven't seen, you're going to see action and you're going to see teams separate from how they built their clubs in a certain way."

He said the Braves (6-1) could not have started off any better. The right-handed pitcher said the Braves' pitching rotation and bullpen are loaded with arms and have been known for arms, which is great for the organization because that's how teams win.

"I know analytically everyone wants to kind of piece together how you can win a baseball game, and put it on paper," Smoltz said. "It sounds great and there's value to it, but at the end of the day the teams that win championships are the teams that pitch better than anybody else. ... I think (the Braves are) well-equipped, they're well-armed, and their offense is fantastic."

Smoltz said pitching philosophies are different in the modern MLB because pitchers now often pitch through contact, whereas pitchers in Smoltz' playing days tried to pitch around contact. He said modern pitchers also throw the ball harder and put more spin on it.

"It's hard to not look at what (Spencer) Strider's fastball does," Smoltz said when asked which current Braves pitcher throws his favorite pitch. "It's almost, at times, very unhittable with the backspin that he has, and if he develops a secondary pitch the sky's the limit."