Chad Dennis Smith (born October 2, 1989) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He previously played

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

Early life

Smith attended

Thousand Oaks High School Thousand Oaks High School (TOHS) is a high school in Thousand Oaks, California, United States. Established in 1962, it is part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. It has a suburban campus with one story buildings, connected by external ...

, in

Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...

, where he had an 8–1

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

with a 2.00

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA),

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

65 batters in 60

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

, earning ''

Los Angeles Daily News The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California, after the unrelated ''Los Angeles Times'', and the flagship newspaper of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado ...

'', ''

Ventura County Star The ''Ventura County Star'' (Marked online as VC Star) is a daily newspaper published in Camarillo, California and serves all of Ventura County. It is owned by Gannett, the largest publisher of newspapers in the United States. It is a successor t ...

'', and All-

Marmonte League The Marmonte League is a high school athletic conference in California affiliated with the CIF Southern Section (CIF-SS). The league is composed of schools located in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Member schools Current As of the 2020–21 s ...

first team honors his senior year. Smith was a member of the Marmonte League champions in his junior and senior seasons.Chad Smith Bio
June 18, 2014 During the summer of 2008, he pitched for the

Wenatchee AppleSox The Wenatchee AppleSox is a collegiate summer baseball team playing in the West Coast League's North Division. The team is based in Wenatchee, Washington and was established in 2000 by owner Jim Corcoran. It has played its home games at Paul Tho ...

of the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

, where he was 1–2 with a 3.96 ERA in 13 games.

College career

Smith was undrafted out of high school and went on to attend the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC). Playing

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

USC Trojans baseball The USC Trojans baseball program represents the University of Southern California in college baseball. Established in 1888 in baseball, 1888, the team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pac-12 Conference, Big Ten ...

team, he made his collegiate debut on February 25, 2009, against the

Pepperdine Waves The Pepperdine Waves are the athletics teams of Pepperdine University, located outside the city of Malibu, California. They compete at the NCAA Division I, Division I level of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA. The school is a me ...

. In his freshman season, he made four starts, and went 3–4 in 18 appearances with one save and a 3.40 ERA, striking out 38 in 45 innings. In his sophomore season, he made six starts, and went 5–6 in 23 appearances, with two saves and a 4.47 ERA, striking out 58 in 56.1 innings. Despite the high ERA, opponents only hit .237 off him in 2010. After the 2010 season, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

. His junior season got off to a good start, where he was 1–2 with four saves and a 2.66 ERA in 19 appearances, but on April 17, he tore his

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL) may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

in his elbow, and was out for the remainder of the season after having

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, sometimes referred to as Tommy John surgery 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 body, ...

Summer baseball

Smith pitched for the Peninsula Oilers of the

Alaska Baseball League The Alaska Baseball League (ABL) is an amateur collegiate summer baseball league based entirely in southern Alaska. Players in the league must have attended one year of college and must have one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. In the past, ...

in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, he made six starts, and went 2–3 in 11 appearances, with a 1.95 ERA and one save, striking out 31 in 37 innings. In 2010, he went 1–1 in 11 appearances, with a 0.46 ERA and three saves, striking out 22 in 19.2 innings.

Professional career

Detroit Tigers

Smith was drafted by the

in the 17th round of the

2011 Major League Baseball Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

. Smith did not pitch professionally in 2011, as he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Smith made his professional debut with the

GCL Tigers The Florida Complex League Tigers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Prior to 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Tigers. The team plays its home game ...

in June 2012. He made four appearances before being promoted to Short-Season

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

. He made two appearances in Connecticut before being promoted to Single-A

West Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

, where he made eight appearances to finish the year. In 14 games in 2012, Smith was 1–2 with a 2.76 ERA, striking out 48 in 45.2 innings. Smith pitched all of 2013 in West Michigan's bullpen, where he was 5–4 in 43 appearances, with a 2.12 ERA, striking out 73 in 72 innings. Smith made his 2014 debut with Double-A

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, where he made seven appearances before being promoted to Triple-A

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

on April 28. Between Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo, Smith posted a 5–2 record, 1.80 ERA and .220 batting average allowed. On June 18, 2014, Smith was called up by the Detroit Tigers. Evan Reed was designated for assignment to make room on the roster. Smith made his major league debut on June 22, in a game against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. On February 24, 2015, Smith was designated for assignment by the Tigers.

Oakland Athletics

Smith was claimed off waivers by the

two days later. He was promoted to the major leagues in May and was designated for assignment after two appearances.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

The Athletics traded Smith to the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

for cash considerations on May 8, 2015. Smith was released by the Angels on June 6.

Texas Rangers

Smith signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers on August 19, 2015. Smith re-signed with the Rangers on a new a minor league contract in December 2015. He was released on June 6, 2016.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chad 1989 births Brewster Whitecaps players Connecticut Tigers players Detroit Tigers players Erie SeaWolves players Glendale Desert Dogs players Gulf Coast Tigers players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente pitchers Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Oakland Athletics players Baseball players from Thousand Oaks, California Salt Lake Bees players Toledo Mud Hens players USC Trojans baseball players West Michigan Whitecaps players Frisco RoughRiders players Criollos de Caguas players Round Rock Express players Peninsula Oilers players Thousand Oaks High School alumni