Gagne is good, but basically a fast ball pitcher. Smoltz has three nasty pitches. Fastball, split and slider. Anyone of them anytime. Nasty. Simply nasty. I'll take John any day over any closer, now or in the past. Even Goose Gossage could not bring the stuff Smoltz does. No one throws harder with the movement on his fastball and then comes and digs a hole in the ground with that split or breaks a righthanded hitter's back with that slider like big John. I have saw all the closers come along since way back in like 1962 when Bud Daily closed for the Yanks and big Dick Radatz closed for the Red Sox. None of em were any better at closing than Smoltz. None.