LOOK: This John Smoltz headline is not quite accurate

His Tommy John surgery happened a long time ago. Just so you know.

Here's a bit of news regarding Braves legend and incoming Hall-of-Famer John Smoltz ... 

(Image: @JeffSchultzAJC)

Hmmm. As the fine print reveals, Smoltz will soon become the first to get a plaque in Cooperstown after undergoing Tommy John surgery. The Myrtle Beach Sun News headline that accompanies this bit of AP copy suggests -- in bold, large-point font and in defiance of the facts on the ground -- that Smoltz will soon undergo Tommy John surgery. This isn't true! Or at least it isn't true to the extent that the Myrtle Beach Sun News copy desk is unable to see the future. If they are able to see the future, then they should put that skill to better use. If Smoltz is unknowingly bound headlong for another TJ surgery, then he should chill out a bit more in retirement.

For what it's worth, Smoltz underwent the procedure in March of 2000. That occurred in the past, not the future. Unless everything we know is wrong. In which case, as you were.

(h/t: TSN)