Richard Arthur Smith (May 17, 1939 – February 19, 2012) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

who appeared in 76

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

over parts of three seasons spanning 1963–1965. Born in

Lebanon, Oregon Lebanon ( ) is a city in Linn County, Oregon, Linn County, Oregon, United States. Lebanon is located in northwest Oregon, southeast of Salem, Oregon, Salem. The population was 18,447 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Lebanon sits be ...

, Smith threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . He attended

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. Smith began his pro career in the Dodger

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 1957, and after six

minor-league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

seasons his contract was purchased by the Mets on October 11, 1962. In , he was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo in July and batted .238 with ten

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

through the end of the season. His most extended service in the majors came in , appearing in 46 early-season games for the Mets. He collected another 21 hits as Met, batting .223, before returning to Buffalo. After that season, on October 15, the Mets traded him back the Dodgers in exchange for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Larry Miller. He made the eventual World Series champion Dodgers out of training camp and went hitless in six early-season

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

before being sent back to Triple-A when rosters were cut from 28 to 25 men. It proved to be his last trial in MLB. He retired in 1968 after 12 years in professional baseball. Smith batted .218 during his MLB career; his 31 hits included six doubles and two triples. He was credited with seven runs batted in. He hit 120

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

as a minor-leaguer.

References

External links

Baseball Almanac – Major League Baseball Players Who Died in 2012
1939 births 2012 deaths Baseball players from Oregon Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Denver Bears players Great Falls Electrics players Green Bay Dodgers players Greenville Spinners players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Minor league baseball managers New York Mets players Odessa Dodgers players Omaha Dodgers players People from Lebanon, Oregon Reno Silver Sox players Savannah Senators players Spokane Indians players Thomasville Dodgers players {{US-baseball-outfielder-1930s-stub