Legendary Braves Duo Facing Battle With the IRS

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00:00Legendary Braves duo facing battle with the IRS

00:03Atlanta Braves icons

00:05John Smoltz and Ryan Klesko are no strangers to high-stakes battles.

00:10But this time, instead of facing batters and pitchers,

00:13the pair found themselves squaring off with the IRS,

00:16and the verdict was not good for them.

00:18The two former Braves stars jointly purchased a large 1,561-acre property

00:24north of Macon, Georgia, dubbing it Bucklew Farms.

00:27They later claimed a massive $50 million valuation on the land,

00:31citing a potential residential development plan.

00:34That valuation, they argued, entitled them to a charitable tax deduction

00:38after placing the property under conservation.

00:41In fact, a tax appeals judge just ruled that the land was actually worth

00:45closer to $7.4 million, not even one-sixth of what Smoltz and Klesko claimed.

00:52The court shredded their argument,

00:53noting that the lofty valuation was

00:55firmly planted somewhere in the realm of fantasy.

00:59Adding insult to injury,

01:01the ruling also referenced how the duo had tried to sell the land

01:04for $14 million just a year ago,

01:07and couldn't find any buyers,

01:09even at that lower price.

01:10The result?

01:12Their company is now stuck with a hefty 40% penalty

01:15for overvaluing the land and inflating the deduction.

01:18For Braves fans who remember John Smoltz as the Hall of Fame anchor of Atlanta's pitching dynasty,

01:24and Klesko as the big swinging slugger with that Captain Caveman cut,

01:27this latest chapter is more surprising than any ninth-inning drama.

01:31But unlike baseball, there's no arguing balls and strikes with the IRS.

01:36To be clear, neither Smoltz nor Klesko is facing jail time.

01:41These kinds of tax disputes are common,

01:43especially around conservation easements.

01:45Still, the ruling leaves the former teammates with a painful financial hit,

01:50and a cautionary tale about trying to have it both ways with Uncle Sam.