Dave Smith (NL pitcher)
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David Stanley Smith (January 21, 1955 – December 17, 2008) was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher, primarily for the
Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
, for whom he pitched from to . He also pitched for 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 ...
.


Early life

Smith was born in
Richmond, California Richmond is a city in western Contra Costa County, California, United States. The city was municipal corporation, incorporated on August 7, 1905, and has a Richmond, California City Council, city council.
, and attended San Diego State University. He was drafted in the eighth round (169th overall) of the
1976 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1976 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign Background The 1976 Arizona State University team, considered by ma ...
. He was signed by scout
Bob Cluck Robert Alton Cluck (born January 10, 1946) is a former minor league baseball pitcher who later went on to become a scout, a minor league manager and a pitching coach at the major and minor league levels. Minor league playing career Cluck began his ...
.


Baseball career

Smith made his Major League debut on April 11, 1980, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sent in for the top of the eighth inning, Smith allowed two walks and a hit but did not allow a run. The Astros rallied in the bottom of the inning for five runs to victory, as Smith earned his first win. Smith appeared in 57 games that year while pitching 102.2 innings (a career high), collecting ten saves while having a 7-5 record with a 1.93 ERA. He struck out 85 batters while walking 32 of them, and he received votes in the Rookie of the Year balloting, finishing fifth. That year, the Astros reached the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Smith appeared in three games of the
1980 National League Championship Series The 1980 National League Championship Series was played between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Houston Astros from October 7 to 12. It was the 12th NLCS. Philadelphia won the series three games to two to advance to the World Series. It was t ...
. In Game 2, he pitched to seven batters in the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one run to score while the Astros won 7-4. In Game 3, he was tasked to pitch the eleventh inning of a scoreless tie. He allowed one hit and a walk before the Astros rallied in the bottom of the inning for a walk-off victory. This set the stage for a pivotal Game 4, in which an Astros win would have advanced them to the World Series. In the top of the eighth inning, he was sent to replace Vern Ruhle, who had seen his shutout end on a Pete Rose single. Facing Mike Schmidt on a full count, Smith allowed a single that scored
Lonnie Smith Lonnie Smith may refer to: * Lonnie Smith (baseball) (born 1955), American baseball player * Lonnie Smith (boxer) (born 1962), American boxer * Lonnie Smith (organist) (1942–2021), American organist * Lonnie Liston Smith (born 1940), American jaz ...
to tie the game. Smith was taken out of
Joe Sambito Joseph Charles Sambito (born June 28, 1952) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Houston Astros (1976–1982, 1984), New York Mets (1985) and Boston Red Sox (1986–1987). He batted and threw left-handed. Early life H ...
, but the Phillies tacked on another run to take the lead. While the Astros rallied to force it into extra innings, the Phillies won the game in the tenth inning (with three hits off Sambito) and won the series the next day. The following year, Smith pitched in 42 games with 75 innings pitched while collecting eight saves with 52 strikeouts and 23 walks and a 2.76 ERA. The Astros returned to the postseason that year and met the Los Angeles Dodgers in the
1981 National League Division Series The 1981 National League Division Series (NLDS), the opening round of the 1981 National League playoffs which began on Tuesday, October 6, and ended on Sunday, October 11. The Division Series was created on August 6 in response to the 1981 Major ...
. Smith pitched the ninth and tenth inning of Game 1, a game that ended with an 11th inning victory for Houston. Smith pitched to two batters of the decisive Game 5 and allowed one run on a hit in the 4-0 loss. Smith
started "Started" is a song recorded by Australian rapper Iggy Azalea for her second studio album ''In My Defense''. The song was written by Azalea alongside Ronny Wright and produced by American record producer J. White Did It. It was released by Ba ...
one game in his career, doing so on June 25, 1982 against the Dodgers. He lasted two innings while allowing four hits and three runs. Smith served as the team's primary closer after the season; he had saved forty games in his first five seasons, but he saved 159 games over the next six seasons for the Astros. In 1986, Smith pitched 56 innings with 54 appearances in games, which resulted in 33 saves with a 2.73 ERA and a 4-7 record while striking out 46 batters with 22 walks. He was named to the All-Star Game that year. Smith and the Astros returned to the postseason that season. He pitched Game 3 and Game 6 of the
1986 National League Championship Series The 1986 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven Major League Baseball postseason series between the NL East champion New York Mets and NL West champion Houston Astros. It was the 18th NLCS and the first MLB playoff series in whi ...
against the New York Mets. In Game 3, he relieved
Charlie Kerfeld Charles Patrick Kerfeld (born September 28, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) relief pitcher. He grew up in Carson City, Nevada. Charlie played baseball for the Carson City High Senators. After he entered major league baseball, almost ...
in the ninth inning of a 5-4 lead for Houston. He gave up a leadoff bunt single by Wally Backman, who the Astros felt stepped way out of the basepaths. One out later, Lenny Dykstra, hit a deep shot to right field on a forkball that went for a home run to win the game for the Mets. Game 6 would later be referred to as one of the most memorable postseason games in history. Smith was sent to pitch the ninth inning to take over for Bob Knepper, who had allowed two runs to score on three hits. With a 3-2 lead and a runner on base with one out, Smith walked two batters to load the bases.
Ray Knight Charles Ray Knight (born December 28, 1952) is an American former Major League Baseball infielder best remembered for his time with the Cincinnati Reds and New York Mets. Originally drafted by the Reds in the tenth round of the 1970 Major Leag ...
then tied the game with a sacrifice fly deep to right field. Smith pitched the tenth inning and allowed no hits, but the Astros went on to lose in the sixteenth inning. Smith pitched his final year with the Astros in 1990. He made the All-Star team that season, pitching with a 2.39 ERA in 49 games and 60.1 innings while collecting 23 saves with fifty strikeouts and twenty walks to go with a 6-6 record. Smith left the Astros following the 1990 season, signing with 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 ...
ten days after being granted free agency. He pitched in 35 games for 33 innings pitched for a 6.00 ERA, striking out sixteen batters with nineteen walks while going 0-6 with seventeen saves. The following year was his last in the majors, as he pitched in eleven games before being released in June. He had a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 innings and eleven games pitched. In his last game on June 8 against the St. Louis Cardinals, he went 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits. His career win-loss record was 53-53. He holds the Astros record for games pitched (586) and home runs per nine innings (0.331). His 2.53 ERA is third-best in Astros history. His 199 saves was a team record until Billy Wagner passed him. Smith had 216 total saves (with 52 blown opportunities).


Personal life

Smith was married twice and had three children in total. After his playing career ended, he worked under the minor league system for the San Diego Padres from 1994 to 1998 before being promoted to the major league staff in 1999, where he coached until 2001; in that year, he undertook an alcohol rehabilitation program and missed a month of the season before resigning in June. He was one of the directors of The San Diego School of Baseball for nearly 30 years. Smith died of a heart attack on December 17, 2008, in San Diego, California.


References


External links


Dave Smith page at AstrosDaily.comAP Obituary
in the Houston Chronicle
Dave Smith - 1975, 1976 Alaska Goldpanners
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Dave 1955 births 2008 deaths San Diego State Aztecs baseball players National League All-Stars Chicago Cubs players Houston Astros players Major League Baseball pitchers Sportspeople from Richmond, California Baseball players from California Covington Astros players Cocoa Astros players Columbus Astros players Charleston Charlies players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players