They came from different professional experiences -- one excelling on the pitcher’s mound, the other in the broadcast booth. Yet when Joe Buck and John Smoltz were paired to call games for FOX Sports, they clicked instantly.

“Somebody asked me in Smoltz’s first year, ‘How long do you think it will take?’” Buck recounted. “I said, ‘I think it’ll take us one game.’ And it took us about two innings. He’s the easiest person I’ve ever worked with in my life.”

This week, Buck and Smoltz will call their sixth consecutive postseason together as the Astros and Braves battle in the 2021 World Series, beginning Tuesday at Minute Maid Park in Houston.

“It's as if we had always worked together. Joe is amazing,” Smoltz said. “I feel like it’s not work at all. … I just can't believe how much fun it is to do a game knowing there's no stress. There's the continuity, and [you] almost could close your eyes and I know when I can talk, when he's going to talk, and that's actually pretty good.”

This World Series matchup has meaningful ties to both broadcasters. Smoltz played 20 of his 21 seasons for the Braves, including winning it all in 1995. He noted an important piece of advice he has gleaned from Buck: “A definition of a good broadcast is when 50 percent of the people think you're rooting for one team and the other 50 percent of the people think you're rooting for the other team. … Everybody in the world is going to know I played 20 years for the Atlanta Braves, but that doesn't change my broadcast.”

For Buck, this season marks his 22nd straight World Series and 24th overall, tying Tim McCarver’s record for the most all-time.

“I was 27 in the World Series in ‘96, and pitching for the Atlanta Braves was John Smoltz,” Buck said. “He was a part of the first World Series I did, and now I get to sit next to him and call the 24th World Series that I've done, so that's cool to me.”

Buck was years into his career when the on-air opportunity presented itself to Smoltz, who played his final season in 2009. Like he did as a pitcher, Smoltz set the bar high for himself as a broadcaster. If he was going to pursue this, he wanted to reach the level of calling the World Series.

“When I was on the outside, like everybody else watching him, I saw a really intense guy that was laser-focused,” Buck said. “There wasn't anybody better, really, consistently doing what he was doing as a starter and then as a reliever -- that’s why he’s in the Hall of Fame. I saw a guy that looked relentless. And what I see is I'm sure what those guys saw as teammates with Atlanta, is somebody who likes to laugh, somebody that has corny jokes, somebody that I don't care how tired he is, he'd rather get up and play golf than sleep.”

When Smoltz stepped into the booth with Buck, it didn’t take long for them to establish a rhythm and play off one another’s strengths. They prepare for the open of the broadcast, equip themselves with the knowledge and insight for the game and then allow their chemistry to shine in some of baseball’s biggest moments.

“He lets me do my thing,” Smoltz said. “When it comes to the game and the passing on some experiential stuff that I’ve been through and then all the things I'm studying on, Joe's going to give the big picture and he's going to narrate the story and I'm going to try to add to it. The thing that is so unique is that he’s so good at handing it off, just allowing that to take place. I study a lot this time of year and really look for the nuances that happen in the game that maybe other people at home wouldn’t know. … I don't have a checklist … It just happens, and I think that certainly it’s worked for us.”

For all the anecdotes and examples Buck and Smoltz shared of their experiences working together, one word resonated multiple times throughout their interviews. Just as how Buck described Smoltz, Smoltz offered the same response about his broadcast partner.

Said Smoltz, “It’s just easy.”