Ozzie Smith (2002)


Date of Birth: 12/26/1954
Birthplace: Mobile, Alabama
College: California Polytechnic State University

Ozzie Smith was a shortstop for the San Diego Padres for 4 years and for the St. Louis Cardinals for 15 years. Prior to being drafted by the Padres in 1977, Smith had played baseball in high school and college and on a semi-pro team.

San Diego Padres

After a year in the minors, Smith was called up to the Padres in 1978. In his first season in the major leagues, he batted .258 with 152 hits, 17 doubles, and 40 stolen bases.

An excellent fielding shortstop, Smith won his first of thirteen consecutive Gold Gloves in 1980. That season he led the NL in assists with 621. He also led all NL shortstops in double plays with 113 and in putouts with 288. In 1981, he again led the NL in assists with 422.

St. Louis Cardinals

The Padres traded Smith to the Cardinals after the 1981 season. He batted .248 with 121 hits in 140 games in 1982. Although his offense was lacking, he again led the NL in assists with 535. He struggled again offensively in 1983, batting just .243 in a career high 159 games. He won his third consecutive Gold Glove, leading all NL shortstops in putouts with 304.

Smith continued to dominate NL shortstops defensively in 1984, leading in double plays turned with 94. He still wasn't playing well offensively, although his batting average did go up to .257.

In 1985, Smith again led the NL in assists with 549. That year, he had a strong postseason, helping the Cardinals win the NL pennant by hitting a game winning home run in the last game of the championship series. He had 12 hits in 13 games and he won the NLCS MVP award.

Smith won his only Silver Slugger award in 1987. That year, he had career highs in hits (182), doubles (40), RBIs (75), and batting average (.303). He also walked a career high 89 times, while striking out only 36 times. He won his seventh Gold Glove for leading the NL in assists with 516 and leading all NL shortstops in double plays turned with 111.

Smith had a career high 57 stolen bases in 1988. He got on base by walking 74 times. He had a .270 batting average in 153 games. Although his stolen base numbers were down in 1989, he had another good year, batting .273 in 155 games. That year, he won his ninth Gold Glove and the Lou Gehrig Memorial award.

Smith's batting average dropped to .254 in 1990, but it improved to .285 in 1991, and to .295 in 1992. He won his thirteenth and final Gold Glove in 1992. Two years later, he won the Branch Rickey award for exceptional community service.

Smith suffered injuries in his final three seasons that limited his playing time. He played in just 44 games in 1995 and in 82 games in 1996, his final season in the major leagues.

Awards and MLB Records

  • NLCS MVP
  • Roberto Clemente award
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial award
  • Branch Rickey award
  • Gold Glove (13 times)
  • Silver Slugger award
  • Led the NL in assists (6 times)

Career Statistics

Batting statistics for Smith in 16 seasons (1978-1993) in the major leagues include:

  • 7 seasons with over 150 hits, with a high of 182 in 1987
  • 11 seasons with 20 or more doubles, with a high of 40 in 1987
  • 11 seasons with over 30 stolen bases, with a high of 57 in 1980 and 1988

Career batting statistics for Smith include:

  • 2,573 games played
  • 2,460 hits
  • 402 doubles
  • 580 stolen bases
  • 793 RBIs
  • 589 strikeouts to 1,072 walks
  • .262 batting average
  • .337 on-base percentage
  • .665 OPS

Career fielding statistics for Smith at shortstop include:

  • 2,511 games played
  • 281 errors
  • 8,375 assists
  • 1,590 double plays
  • 4,249 putouts
  • .978 fielding percentage

Postseason statistics for Smith include:

  • 4 postseasons
  • 42 games played
  • 144 at-bats
  • 34 hits
  • 1 double
  • 2 triples
  • 1 home run
  • 6 stolen bases
  • 10 RBIs
  • 9 strikeouts to 20 walks
  • .236 batting average

Post Playing Career

After retiring as a major league player, Smith hosted "This Week in Baseball" on TV for three years (1997-1999). During this time period, he also served as a commentator for Cardinals' games. In 1999, he signed with CNN-SI as a broadcaster.

Smith was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2002 on the first ballot with 91.7% of the vote.

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Ozzie Smith
ESPN - Ozzie Smith
Baseball Reference - Ozzie Smith

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