Matthew J. Smith (born June 15, 1979) is an American former

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 ...

. He was a left-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

who graduated from

Bishop Gorman High School Bishop Gorman High School (also commonly referred to as Gorman High School or BGHS) is a private Catholic Church, Roman Catholic preparatory school located in Las Vegas, Nevada. The school is administered by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Ve ...

, where he played baseball. He was a 3-year letter winner and is the all-time leader in strikeouts (348) at OSU and was named to the Big 12 Second Team twice and First Team once. One of his favorite hobbies is golf. He was drafted in the 44th round (1310th overall) in the

1997 Major League Baseball draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

by the

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 ...

, but did not sign and attended

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He was drafted again in the 4th round in the

2000 Major League Baseball draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

by the

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 ...

. He split the 2005 season with the Yankees' Double-A affiliate, the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

, and the Triple-A affiliate, the

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy Merchant ship, mercha ...

. In 47 games, he pitched 82 innings, posting a 2.65

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

and a (5-4) record. Smith made his major-league debut on April 14, 2006, against the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

and recorded one out before being removed from the game. Smith,

C.J. Henry Carl Joshua Henry, Jr. (born May 31, 1986) is an American former basketball and professional baseball player. Henry played in minor league baseball, minor and independent baseball and in college for the Southern Nazarene University men's basketb ...

, and two other minor league players were traded in July 2006 by the Yankees to the Phillies in exchange for

Bobby Abreu Bob Kelly Abreu (; ; born March 11, 1974), nicknamed "El Comedulce" and also "La Leche", is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies ...

and

Cory Lidle Cory Fulton Lidle (March 22, 1972 – October 11, 2006) was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Lidle played in Major League Baseball with the New York Mets, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Ja ...

. Smith pitched in 14 games for the Phillies in 2006. In 2007, Smith pitched in nine games for the Phillies, compiling an 11.25 ERA before being optioned to the Triple-A

Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal ...

in late April. Smith went 2–1 with a 2.60 ERA and one save before being placed on the disabled list retroactively to June 13. Smith underwent

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

on July 4, 2007. Smith was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on January 4, 2008, and released, but was later re-signed to a minor league contract and invited to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

on January 15. He became a free agent at the end of the 2008 season and signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs in January . Smith was released by the Cubs after the 2009 spring training season.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Matt 1979 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arizona Diamondbacks scouts Bishop Gorman High School alumni Baseball players from Nevada Clearwater Threshers players Columbus Clippers players Greensboro Bats players Florida Complex League Phillies players Los Angeles Dodgers scouts Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Norwich Navigators players Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball players Ottawa Lynx players Philadelphia Phillies players Staten Island Yankees players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players San Diego Padres scouts Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players