Jason William Smith (born July 24, 1977) is an American former

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), ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Career

In 1995, Smith was drafted by the

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 ...

in the 42nd round of the

1995 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Background Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...

, but did not sign. A year later, he was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in the 23rd round of the 1996 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut with the Cubs on June 17, 2001. After stints in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, Smith was claimed in the Rule 5 Draft by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in December 2006. Smith was claimed off waivers by

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

on May 15, 2007. He played 2 games for the Diamondbacks going 1-4 before being placed on the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

. On July 11, 2007, while on the disabled list, he was claimed off waivers by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

, for whom he batted .188 in 2007 and .214 in 2008. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2008 season and signed a minor league contract with the Houston Astros on January 5, 2009. On May 10, 2009 Smith was recalled to Houston for added depth as

Lance Berkman William Lance Berkman (born February 10, 1976), nicknamed "Fat Elvis" and "Big Puma", is an American baseball coach and former professional baseball outfielder and first baseman, who is the current head baseball coach of the Houston Christian Hu ...

suffered a wrist injury.

Personal life

Smith's cousin, Austin Davis, plays in the

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...

. He currently resides in Mobile, Alabama.

References

External links

1977 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Mississippi Chicago Cubs players Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Daytona Cubs players Detroit Tigers players Durham Bulls players Houston Astros players Iowa Cubs players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball infielders Meridian Eagles baseball players Omaha Royals players Rockford Cubbies players Round Rock Express players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Toledo Mud Hens players Toronto Blue Jays players Tucson Sidewinders players Visalia Oaks players West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx players Williamsport Cubs players {{US-baseball-infielder-stub