When Lonnie Smith 'plotted revenge' on GM John Schuerholz: "I was going to fly out there, wait for him in the parking lot of the stadium and pop him"
In 1988, former Kansas City Royals player Lonnie Smith plotted revenge on General Manager John Schuerholz because he believed John had "blackballed" him among executives from other teams. Smith was out of contract with the Royals with no new team ready to acquire his services.
Lonnie Smith is a former MLB player who predominantly played in the 1980s as a left fielder. He was a three-time World Series champion with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1980, the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982, and the Kansas City Royals in 1985. He also earned an All-Star appearance in 1982.
Smith reportedly had severe bouts of drug abuse during his playing career, and he had to overcome all of that to continue plying his trade in MLB. Unable to find a team to play for when he left the Kansas City Royals, Lonnie Smith blamed General Manager John Schuerholz for his condition and was on the verge of attempting to kill him.
@Ex_Twins_News @uniformcritic Classy guy, Lonnie Smith, almost murdered John Schuerholz https://t.co/HPo5tt1LPE
The story was uncovered in 2006 by journalist Kent Babb, who quoted Lonnie saying:
“If I couldn’t get back to baseball,” Smith says, “I was going to take him with me. I was going to fly out there, wait for him in the parking lot of the stadium and pop him. If I got caught, I got caught. If not, I’d come on back home.”
Due to his struggles with addiction, Smith was suspended for an entire season after testifying to MLB authorities about his drug usage. However, Smith and six other players were allowed to continue playing, provided they donated 10 percent of their salaries to drug rehabilitation facilities, submitted to random drug testing for the rest of their careers, and contributed 100 hours to community service.
Smith returned to have a great season in 1986. Even then, the Royals' general manager wasn't satisfied if he was entirely off drugs, so he was let go by the team in the 1987-88 postseason.
Lonnie Smith had bought a pistol and was ready to confront Schuerholz
Lonnie Smith claimed he was depressed and bought a dime bag of marijuana for $40, which was his first bout with any sort of drug since 1983. He also bought a Taurus 9-mm handgun from a nearby pawn shop and was about to confront John with the 15-magazine gun.
“If I did, you know, the thing [murder], at least I took somebody out who was at blame.
“I figured if I got close enough to him, it didn’t matter. I didn’t think I really wanted to do it, but at the same time, I really did. To have something that you love and have somebody take it from you, it will drive you to do anything.”
Thankfully for Smith, he didn't go ahead with his "planned murder." A few days later, Atlanta Braves General Manager Bobby Cox offered him a contract to play for the Braves. He made a fairly good return to the MLB and concluded his career after playing seven more seasons for Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore.