During the 1991 and 1992 seasons, John Smoltz relied on Greg Olson to calm him down when he threw a bad pitch. These days, the Hall of Famer is counting on Olson to do something similar — in a completely different setting.
Olson will caddy for Smoltz on Friday, when he makes his professional golf debut at the Cologuard Classic at Omni Tucson National. Smoltz and Olson were batterymates as the Atlanta Braves became a National League powerhouse in the 1990s. Olson caught Smoltz in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, a 1-0, 10-inning loss to the Minnesota Twins.
Despite only playing a few years together in the majors, Olson and Smoltz remained tight. The former teammates keep up on the Michigan State-Minnesota rivalry, and they compete in cards and tiddledywinks.
When it comes to golf, however, the two team up. Olson caddied for Smoltz in January’s Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, when the former pitcher won the celebrity flight. The two reunited this week.
“You won’t meet a more upbeat, generous and more positive guy than Greg,” Smoltz said. “That helps a guy like me when I get frustrated. He has a way of just breaking the ice.”
Former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz, left, and his caddie and former battery-mate Greg Olson, walk down the No. 8 fairway during the second day of the 2019 PGA Champions Tour Cologuard Classic Jose Cuervo Pro-Am at Omni Tucson National Golf Resort, 2727 W. Club Dr., Feb. 28, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. The PGA Champions Tour tournament begins Friday.
They still share that closeness that can only be found in that pitcher-catcher relationship. Olson used to put down one finger for a fastball, two for a curveball, three for a slider and a wiggle for a changeup; now, he reads the putt and tells Smoltz whether he thinks it will break right or left. Smoltz, as always, has the right to shake him off.
“All I am trying to do is provide some sort of comfort level while he is going through this because for John this is stressful,” Olson said. “It is my job to help him with the mental side and calm him back down and get him back to the focus and fun part.
“For me to say something to John, a lot of times I will just divert him away from golf and I will talk about, ‘Remember the time you had a no hitter and … I called a fastball and you threw a slider and he got a hit? This was actually the bottom of the eighth.’ I will take him back to some other time like that. I try to get him away from golf for just a short period of time.”
Olson was seen Thursday morning giving catching tips to the son of another golfer in his group. He even squatted in his old stance to show the boy how it’s done — no easy feat at 58 years old.
“Sometimes when a former major league athletes talks to a young player, it might mean a little more than his coach or his dad,” Olson said. “Any chance I have to help a young athlete, I always pounce on that.”
Smoltz and Olson aren’t the only ones at this week’s tournament with a baseball connection. Jackie Servais is working as the communications specialist for the PGA Tour Champions. Her father, Scott, is the manager of the Seattle Mariners. Servais grew up around baseball as her dad played for the Chicago Cubs and the Houston Astros as a catcher. Scott Servais then took a front-office job with the Los Angeles Angels before moving on to the Mariners.
Former Braves pitcher John Smoltz, right, talks with Tom Lehman on the 16th tee box Thursday.
Jackie Servais followed her dad into baseball. She served as a communications intern with the Angels and dreamed of a life in the sport … until she applied for a position with the PGA Tour Champions.
“Right away, it was, ‘OK, where do I sign?,’ she said.
Servais brings a different perspective to her role. Her boss, senior director of communications Stewart Moore, says Servais understands digital and social outlets, as well as social media influencers.
“She’s been at the forefront of that for the PGA Tour Champions,” said Moore. “I like that she brings that viewpoint to the table, which is unique, which is good, which is certainly refreshing for us.”
Jackie Servais knows what it’s like to be around athletes on a daily basis. It helped erase any learning curve.
“When she started on the tour she was 23, for a lot people it can be intimidating to be in front of the … greatest stars in sports history, and she was comfortable Day 1,” Moore said.
“There are some people who could do this job very well who could be timid around these stars. She is not. She owes a lot of that to growing up with her dad, not only as a manager but as a player in baseball. Seeing these guys with their frustrations on the golf course and how that parallels with frustrations in baseball. When to approach a player for a couple of tough quotes after the last hole and when to let them blow off some stream. The timing and the feel of that, she has that. For a lot people that would be tough to learn. She started on Day 1 knowing that, which was great for us.”
Jackie Servais is one of three women on the PGA Tour Champions Media team. And the entire Media Content and Communications team is headed up by Laura Neal, one of Servais’ mentors.
“My parents have always instilled that in me: that women can do anything men can do — and, of course, my mom would say … ‘and 10 times better,’” she said. “I do hope that one day it’s not a topic of conversation, but that it is just the norm.”
