Lonnie Smith (baseball) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Lonnie Smith |
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Smith with the St. Louis Cardinals
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| Left fielder | |||
| Born: December 22, 1955 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
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| debut | |||
| September 2, 1978, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| August 10, 1994, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .288 | ||
| Home runs | 98 | ||
| Runs batted in | 533 | ||
| Stolen bases | 370 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Lonnie Smith (born December 22, 1955) is a former American Major League Baseball player. He was a left fielder known for his speed. Smith started his career with the Philadelphia Phillies on September 2, 1978. He also played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles. He was one of the best base-stealers in baseball during the 1980s. Lonnie Smith played on five teams that won their league championship, and three of those teams went on to win the World Series.
Contents
Playing Career
Minor League Baseball
Smith began his professional baseball journey in the minor leagues. In 1974, he played for Auburn in the New York–Penn League. The next year, he was a standout player for Spartanburg. He led that league with 150 hits, 114 runs scored, and 56 stolen bases. In 1978, while playing for Oklahoma City, he led the league again with 66 stolen bases. He scored 106 runs the following year, also with Oklahoma City.
Philadelphia Phillies
After playing a few games with the Phillies in 1978 and 1979, Smith became a regular player in 1980. He had a great batting average of .339 in 100 games. That year, the Phillies won the National League championship. They then defeated the Kansas City Royals in the World Series. Smith's strong performance helped him finish third in the voting for the Rookie of the Year award. He continued to play well in the 1981 season, which was shorter due to a strike, hitting .324.
St. Louis Cardinals
In November 1981, Smith was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He continued to hit well in 1982 and had a good on-base percentage. The 1982 season was a very successful year for Smith.
- Smith was chosen for the MLB All-Star Game in 1982, which was the only time in his career.
- He had a batting average of .307 and an on-base percentage of .381.
- He led the National League by scoring 120 runs, which was his highest in a single season.
- Smith also set personal bests in 1982 with 592 times at bat, 182 hits, 35 doubles, and 257 total bases.
- He ranked second in the National League with a career-high 68 stolen bases. The Cardinals' manager, Whitey Herzog, encouraged his fastest players to steal bases often.
Smith's excellent play in 1982 led him to finish second in the voting for the regular-season National League Most Valuable Player award. That year, Dale Murphy of the Atlanta Braves won the award.
Smith batted an impressive .321 during the 1982 World Series. He helped the Cardinals defeat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games.
Smith was known for sometimes tripping while running, which he said was because he was "pigeon-toed" as a child. During a game in September 1982, the Phillie Phanatic mascot playfully copied Smith. Smith responded by playfully tackling the Phanatic.
Smith continued to play well in 1983, batting .321. This placed him second in the National League. He played in 130 games and received some MVP votes again. Smith faced some personal challenges that briefly kept him from playing during the middle of the 1983 season.
Smith remained with the Cardinals through the end of the 1984 season.
Kansas City Royals
Smith was traded to the Royals on May 17, 1985. The Royals needed a regular player for their left field position, and Smith filled that role. After the regular season, Smith played well in the 1985 World Series, batting .333. He helped the Royals win a seven-game upset against the favored Cardinals. When Smith played in Game 1 of the 1985 World Series, he became the first player in MLB history to play in the World Series against a team that had traded him away in the same season.
Smith continued to have a good season in 1986. However, his playing time was reduced during the 1987 season.
After the 1987 season, Smith had difficulty finding a new team. He later shared that he felt very sad during this time.
Atlanta Braves
In March of 1988, Bobby Cox, who was then the general manager for the Atlanta Braves, offered Smith a contract. Smith made the team's 25-man roster during Spring training. He batted .237 in limited playing time that season. However, in 1989, he became a starting outfielder for the Braves. He had one of his best baseball seasons ever. Smith had a batting average of .315 and hit a career-high 21 home runs. He also led the National League with a .415 on-base percentage. Smith finished 11th in the voting for the N.L. Most Valuable Player. He was also given the MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award.
Smith continued to be a regular outfielder for the Braves for the next two seasons. He batted .305 in 1990 and .275 in 1991. Smith's play in 1991 helped the Braves improve greatly. They went from finishing last in their division in 1990 to winning the National League pennant in 1991. This led to a World Series appearance for the first time since 1958.
1991 World Series
In Game 7 of the 1991 World Series against the Minnesota Twins, Smith was on first base with no outs in the eighth inning. The game was scoreless. The Braves' batter, Terry Pendleton, hit a line-drive double to left field. It looked like Smith should have been able to score on this hit. However, as he was running around second base, he paused and had to stop at third base. Smith later said he lost sight of the baseball against the ceiling of the Metrodome. Replays showed that the Twins' second baseman Chuck Knoblauch and shortstop Greg Gagne might have tricked Smith. Knoblauch pretended to throw the ball for a force out, but he didn't actually have it.
Because of this, Smith only made it to third base. After a ground-out and an intentional walk, Smith was forced out at home plate in a double play. This left the Braves scoreless. The game remained scoreless through the end of the ninth inning.
The Twins scored one run in the bottom of the tenth inning, winning the game 1–0. They also won the World Series four games to three. Smith hit three home runs in the Series.
Later Career
Smith stayed with the Braves through the end of the 1992 season. He helped the Braves win the National League pennant again. However, they lost the World Series four games to two against the Toronto Blue Jays. Smith hit a grand slam in game five of that series.
After leaving the Braves, Smith signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates for one season. He was then acquired by the Baltimore Orioles on September 8, 1993. Smith was mainly used as a pinch-hitter. He played his final major league game on August 10, 1994. This was the Orioles' last game before the strike that year. He became a free agent for the last time on October 24, 1994.
Career Statistics
In 1613 games over 17 seasons, Smith had a .288 batting average. He recorded 1488 hits in 5170 times at bat. He scored 909 runs, hit 273 doubles, 58 triples, and 98 home runs. He also had 533 RBI and 370 stolen bases. His on-base percentage was .371 and his slugging percentage was .420. His career fielding percentage was .964. In five World Series and six playoff series, Smith hit .278 with 28 runs scored, 4 home runs, and 17 RBI.
Baseball historian Bill James noted Lonnie Smith's challenges with playing defense. He humorously suggested that Smith could have taught "defensive recovery" after retiring. This was because Smith was good at bouncing back from defensive mistakes in the outfield.
Retirement
After retiring from professional baseball, Lonnie Smith married again. He and his wife moved back to Atlanta, where they raised three children.
In 2015, sportswriter Jon Bois released a video documentary about Lonnie Smith's career. The documentary covered his journey in baseball and his comeback with the Braves.
Records and Achievements
- Smith is the first player to be part of three different World Series winning teams within a single decade. He achieved this in a six-year period with the Phillies, Cardinals, and Royals. This feat was later matched by Will Smith.
- Smith set a franchise record for the St. Louis Cardinals on September 4, 1982. He stole five bases in a single game.
- Smith won the National League's runs-scored championship in 1982. He scored 120 runs for the St. Louis Cardinals. In that season, he helped the Cardinals win the National League pennant and a World Series championship. This was also his only season where he was selected to play on the National League All-Star Team.
Images for kids
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Smith with the St. Louis Cardinals
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball career stolen bases leaders
