Keith Lavarne Smith (born May 3, 1953) is a 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), ...

outfielder who played for the Texas Rangers in 1977 and the St. Louis Cardinals from 1979 to 1980. His minor league career spanned from 1972 to 1981. Brother of Bobby Smith who played for the 1973

Marion Mets The Marion Mets were a minor league baseball team based in Marion, Virginia that played in the Appalachian League from 1965 to 1976. They were affiliated with the New York Mets and played their home games at the Marion High School baseball field. ...

. He was actually born as Keith LaVaughn Smith and

never corrected the error. Smith was drafted twice before signing with a major league club. He was initially taken in the seventh round of the 1972 January Draft by the Cardinals out of Manatee Community College, but did not sign. After being drafted in the fourth round of the 1972 June Secondary Draft by the Rangers, he did sign. On August 2, 1977, Smith made his major league debut at the age of 24. He had five plate appearances in his first game, going hitless in three at-bats with a walk and run scored off of

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

pitcher

Lerrin LaGrow Lerrin Harris LaGrow (born July 8, 1948) is an American former professional baseball pitcher, who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (), (–), St. Louis Cardinals (), Chicago White Sox (–), Los Angeles Dod ...

. Less than two weeks later, on August 12, he hit the first home run of his major league career, also off of LaGrow. Smith played in 23 games in his inaugural big league season, hitting .239 with two home runs and six RBI. He did not play in the majors in 1978, spending the entire season with the Triple-A Tucson Toros. On February 12, 1979, he was traded to the Cardinals for pitcher Tommy Toms. He spent most of the season in the minors, hitting .350 in 119 games for the Springfield Cardinals. In a cup of coffee with the big league club that year, he hit .231 in 13 at-bats. Smith appeared in 24 games for the Cardinals in 1980, hitting .129 in 31 at-bats. He played his final big league game on October 5. Overall, Smith hit .207 with two home runs and 8 RBI in 53 games during his three-year career. He also spent nine seasons in the minor leagues, hitting .295 with 77 home runs and 120 stolen bases in 944 games. He played in the Rangers, Cardinals,

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

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

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

systems.BR Minors
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References

External links

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Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Keith Living people 1953 births Baseball players from Florida Gastonia Rangers players Geneva Senators players Greensboro Hornets players Major League Baseball left fielders People from Palmetto, Florida Pittsfield Rangers players Rochester Red Wings players Sacramento Solons players SCF Manatees baseball players Springfield Redbirds players St. Louis Cardinals players State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota alumni Texas Rangers players Tidewater Tides players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players