Lee Smith

Lee Arthur Smith (born December 4, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams.

Ferguson Jenkins, who had pitched for the Cubs from 1966 to 1973, returned to the Cubs for the final two seasons of his career, 1982 and 1983.

Years later, Smith credited Jenkins with simplifying his delivery, introducing him to the slider and forkball, and teaching him how to set up hitters.

A native of Jamestown in Bienville Parish in north Louisiana, Smith was scouted by Buck O'Neil and was selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 1975 MLB draft.

Smith was an intimidating figure on the pitcher's mound at 6 ft and 265 lb with a 95-mile-per-hour (150 km/h) fastball.

At age 17, Smith was selected in the second round of the 1975 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs with the 28th overall pick.

The Cubs, via O'Neil, were able to get Smith under contract for a $50,000 signing bonus plus $8,000 for his education.

Smith began his professional career as a starting pitcher, first playing in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 1975.

He played in Class A in 1976 and 1977 with the Pompano Beach Cubs, then in Double-A during 1978 and 1979 with the Midland Cubs.

In 1978, Smith struggled with Midland in the Texas League, walking 128 batters in 155 innings pitched.

When the team moved him to the bullpen, Smith felt he was being demoted and nearly quit the team; a talk from former Cubs outfielder Billy Williams convinced him to stay.

Smith returned to Midland in 1979, lowering his earned run average (ERA) by a full run compared to the prior season (5.98 to 4.93).

In 1980, Smith played in Triple-A with the Wichita Aeros of the American Association, recording 15 saves and a 3.70 ERA.

Smith made his major league debut with the Cubs, who were struggling to a last-place finish, on September 1, 1980, against the Atlanta Braves.

He pitched a scoreless inning and recorded his first MLB strikeout, coming against Glenn Hubbard.

Smith made 18 relief appearances through the end of the season, pitching to a 2.91 ERA with a 2–0 record.

He returned to the Cubs for the 1981 season, and was used mostly as a middle relief pitcher.

His first major league save came on August 29, when he recorded the final five outs of a 3–1 Cubs win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Smith had an ERA of 3.94 through early June, when the season was interrupted by the 1981 Major League Baseball strike.

He finished the season with an ERA of 3.51 and a 3–6 record, coming in 39 relief appearances plus a single start at the end of the season.

These five starts, along with the start at the end of the 1981 season, were the only six starts that Smith made during his major league career.

Smith also collected his first MLB hit, coming on July 5 against Atlanta, a second-inning home run off of Phil Niekro.

During the 1982 season, closing for the Cubs was shared between Smith, Willie Hernández, Bill Campbell and Dick Tidrow, each of whom finished at least 25 games while registering 17, 10, 8, and 6 saves, respectively.

Smith also started five games between June 16 and July 5, registering a no decision followed by four consecutive losses.

Smith only collected two additional hits, one each in 1983 and 1984, registering a career batting average of .047 (3-for-64).

Smith subsequently led the Cubs in games finished and saves for each of the 1983 through 1987 seasons.

During his first 10 appearances of 1983, Smith allowed no runs while allowing only three hits and striking out 12 batters in 12 2⁄3 innings pitched; his ERA was not above 1.85 at any point during the year.

His overall 1.65 ERA for the season proved to be the lowest of his major league career, nearly two runs better than the NL average of 3.63, and he also posted a career-best 1.074 WHIP.

He led the NL with 29 saves and 56 games finished.

Smith was selected to his first All-Star Game, allowing two runs (one earned) on two hits in an inning of work as his NL team lost the 1983 mid-summer classic to the AL, 13–3.

Smith received a point in the NL's Cy Young Award voting and eight points in the NL Most Valuable Player Award voting.

In 1991, he set a National League (NL) record with 47 saves for the St. Louis Cardinals, and was runner-up for the league's Cy Young Award; it was the second of three times Smith led the NL in saves, and he later led the American League (AL) in saves once.

When he retired, he held the major league record for career games finished (802) and was third in games pitched (1,022).

Serving mostly as a relief pitcher during his career, he was a dominant closer, was the first pitcher to reach 400 saves, and held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when Trevor Hoffman passed his total of 478.

He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the class of by the Today's Game Era Committee.

He holds the Cubs' team record for career saves (180), and held the same record for the Cardinals (160) until 2006.

After his playing career, Smith worked as a pitching instructor in Minor League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants.

He served as the pitching coach for the South Africa national baseball team in the World Baseball Classics of 2006 and 2009.

Smith attended high school in Castor, Louisiana, where his favorite sport was basketball; he did not play on the baseball team until he was a junior.

Negro leagues veteran Buck O'Neil is credited with having scouted him.