Hall of Famer John Smoltz returning to Richmond for Flying Squirrels' Opening Night

RICHMOND, Va. – Former Richmond Braves pitcher and Hall of Fame inductee John Smoltz will join the Richmond Flying Squirrels for Opening Night at The Diamond on April 4, 2025, the team announced on Monday.

Smoltz, who played for the Richmond Braves in 1987 and 1988, will join the Flying Squirrels to throw out the ceremonial first pitch.

Opening Night presented by Chick-fil-A is set for Friday, April 4 at The Diamond as the Richmond Flying Squirrels host the Akron RubberDucks, Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. Tickets for all 2025 Flying Squirrels home games are on sale now at SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets. Each of the Flying Squirrels’ 14 home openers have sold out. Gates will open at 5 p.m. with Smoltz's first pitch scheduled for approximately 6:30 p.m.

VIP Meet & Greet Packages are sold out.

"We've been fortunate to have some incredible Opening Night guests over the past 14 seasons, but this one is truly historic," said Flying Squirrels Chief Operating Officer and General Manager Ben Rothrock. "John Smoltz is one of the all-time greats to ever play here, and we could think of no better way to kick off our season-long celebration of The Diamond's 40th anniversary and the Flying Squirrels' 15th season than to welcome him back to Richmond."

As a 20-year-old prospect in 1987, Smoltz was traded from the Tigers to the Braves for Doyle Alexander. The Braves assigned Smoltz to their Triple-A team in Richmond, taking the place of fellow future Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine, who was called up to Atlanta for his MLB debut to replace Alexander.

Smoltz pitched three games with Richmond to close the 1987 season. He returned to begin the 1988 season, making 20 starts before being promoted to Atlanta for his MLB debut that July.

Over a 21-year major league career, Smoltz won 213 games, collected 154 saves and recorded 3,084 strikeouts. He pitched 20 seasons for the Braves from 1988-2008 before spending his final season in 2009 with the Boston Red Sox and the St. Louis Cardinals. Smoltz was selected as a National League All-Star eight times and won the 1996 NL Cy Young Award. He was Inducted to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015, one of seven former Richmond professional baseball players enshrined in Cooperstown as players.

PREVIOUS OPENING NIGHT CEREMONIAL FIRST PITCHES

2010 – Gov. Bob McDonnell

2011 – James Farrior, Brandon Rozzell & Chris Mooney

2012 – Dale Murphy

2013 – Javy Lopez & Ryan Kerrigan

2014 – Michael Robinson

2015 – Will Wade (caught by Gov. Terry McAuliffe)

2016 – Jerome Bettis

2017 – David Justice (caught by Mayor Levar Stoney)

2018 – Fred McGriff & Gov. Ralph Northam (caught by Mayor Levar Stoney)

2019 – Ryan Klesko

2022 – Will Clark

2023 – Robert Wuhl

2024 – Joe Panik

2025 Opening Night ticket packages are on sale now online at SquirrelsBaseball.com, by phone at 804-359-FUN (3866) or in person at the Flying Squirrels ticket office.