Lonnie Smith Planned to Kill John Schuerholz

This is not a joke. He really planned to kill him:

The good memories come with mementos and posters and championship rings, most of them tucked into boxes in Smith’s basement. The bad memories, such as the stigma of addiction, stay with him. He carries the most visible reminder on his right hand, where a deep scar near his thumb reminds him that he had both a gun and a plan to kill John Schuerholz, the general manager Smith blamed for sabotaging his career while he played for the Kansas City Royals.

Smith blamed Schuerholz, now the Braves general manager, for blackballing him among other major league teams’ officials. Smith says Schuerholz never believed he had given up drugs in 1983, when he spent 30 days in a rehab clinic, and told other general managers Smith was a troublemaker with a dangerous history. Smith, who left Kansas City on bad terms after the ’87 season, spent much of the next year begging teams to give him a chance. When it did not happen, Smith bought a dime bag of marijuana and decided Schuerholz’s crime was a capital offense.

Are we supposed to feel sorry for Lonnie Smith after reading that? Happy for him? I came away thinking that Smith was a thug who blamed Schuerholz because he wasn't man enough to blame himself for his own actions. Nobody in baseball will give Smith a job after reading that. Imagine if he gets a job as an instructor but then doesn't get a promotion to coach? The guy who passed him over may get killed for the "insult" to Smith.