Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of the 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1 on New Year's Day or shortly thereafter. Then Headline Surfer will post a Top 10 forecast story of the good, the bad & the ugly on the horizon in "2022: The Year That Lies Ahead."
Photos for Headline Surfer / John Smoltz is shown back in the day as a pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, with wife, Kathryn, and far-right, Kathryn Smoltz's mom, Ellen Darden. John and Kathryn Smoltz are also shown below.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- You'd be hard-pressed to find a prouder mother-in-law than New Smyrna Beach's Ellen Darden, especially come World Series time.
And with good reason.
"He's a great baseball analyst - the best," Darden said.
And who can argue with that?
After all, Ellen Darden's son-in-law is John Smoltz, the Major League Baseball Hall of Famer who served as the analyst on Fox Sports' 2021 World Series coverage that saw the Atlanta Braves defeat the Houston Astros 4 games to 2 to win the championship. Smoltz is a Hall of Fame pitcher who won the 1995 World Series with the Braves. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
After all, Ellen Darden's son-in-law is John Smoltz, the Major League Baseball Hall of Famer who served as the analyst on Fox Sports' 2021 World Series coverage that saw the Atlanta Braves defeat the Houston Astros 4 games to 2 to win the championship. Smoltz is a Hall of Fame pitcher who won the 1995 World Series with the Braves. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015.
Here's a fast facts summary of Smoltz's MLB career: An eight-time All-Star, Smoltz finished his 21-year big league career with a 213-155 record, 154 saves, 3,084 strikeouts, and a 3.33 ERA. The winner of 14-or-more games 10 times, he twice led the NL in wins (1996 and 2006), innings pitched (1996 and 1997) and strikeouts (1992 and 1996).
Smoltz, who was the Fox Sports color commentator calling the series with Joe Buck, is married to Darden's daughter, Kathryn.
Smoltz played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball.
From winning the National League Cy Young Award in 1996 to winning the Roberto Clement Award in 2005, he’s become a champion forever in wife Kathyryn's heart. They married 14 years ago.
It's the second marriage for both who call Alpharetta, Ga. home.
YouTube embedding / National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum video / The Baseball Hall of Fame Video Biography for John Smoltz, Hall of Fame Class of 2015.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.