On Saturday morning, the Sun News arrived on the doorsteps, stoops and driveways of some 30,000 citizens in seaside Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas, bearing news both bad and bizarre for the Braves' fan base.
John Smoltz needs Tommy John surgery. Again. Despite the fact that the former Braves star hasn't thrown an MLB-sanctioned pitch in six years. Say it ain't so, Smoltz!
Oh dear (via @RcoxAJC: Myrtle Beach sports section): pic.twitter.com/DcKX3EPnGk
— Jeff Schultz (@JeffSchultzAJC) July 3, 2015
MORE: The HOF-worthy career of Smoltz, in images | Newspaper names 'amphibious' pitcher
It ain't so. The Associated Press story beneath the botched headline tells a more interesting (and more accurate) tale: Smoltz, upon his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, will become the first pitcher in Cooperstown who has undergone Tommy John surgery. And likely not the last. A pioneer for those who would decree: Ligament damage, be damned.
Smoltz also stands alone in Cooperstown as the only pitcher to compile more than 200 wins and 150 saves in a career, all while he tallied more than 3,000 strikeouts. Post-surgery, Smoltz won 56 games, saved 154 and struck out 986 batters.
But somewhere in Myrtle Beach, a copy editor or headline writer is on the loose, tearing ligaments and killing elbows of pitchers past their prime. And Dr. James Andrews can't save this Hall-of-Fame headline from the permanence of print or the everlasting screenshot.
On the internet, it will be forever torn apart.