Christopher Patrick Smith (born August 19, 1988) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played in

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), ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in 2017.

High school and college

Smith attended Butler Traditional High School in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Kentucky Wesleyan College Kentucky Wesleyan College (KWC) is a private Methodist college in Owensboro, Kentucky. The college is known for its liberal arts programs. Fall 2018 enrollment was 830 students. History Kentucky Wesleyan College was founded in 1858 by the Kent ...

, where he was a second baseman and pitcher. He holds the record for games started with the

Panthers Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards. ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

at 187, as well as saves with eight. Smith

majored An academic major is the academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits. A student who successfully completes all courses required for the major qualifies for an undergraduate degree. The word ''major'' (also called ''conce ...

in fitness and sports management.

Professional career

Frontier League/Pecos League

Unchosen in the Major League draft, Smith was selected in the first round of the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

's draft by the

Lake Erie Crushers The Lake Erie Crushers are a professional baseball team based in Avon, Ohio, a city near the southern shore of Lake Erie. They are members of the West Division of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which is not affiliated with Ma ...

. Smith played in 1 game for the team, posting a 36.00 ERA after allowing 4 runs in just an inning of work. In 2011, Smith played for the Traverse City Beach Bums and

Washington Wild Things The Washington Wild Things are a professional baseball team based in Washington, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The Wild Things are a member of the Frontier League, an independent baseball league which, as of 2020, is an official Partner Le ...

of the Frontier League, as well as the

White Sands Pupfish The White Sands pupfish (''Cyprinodon tularosa'') is a species of pupfish in the family Cyprinodontidae. It is endemic to the Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico, in the Western United States The Western United States (also called the A ...

of the

Pecos League Pecos may refer to: Places * Pecos River, rises near Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States * Pecos, Texas, a city in Reeves County, Texas, United States * Pecos County, Texas, named for the Pecos River ** Pecos Spring, a spring * Pecos, New Mexico, ...

. In 13 combined appearances, Smith pitched to a 4–2

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

, 3.64

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), and 54 strikeouts in 59 innings pitched. In the offseason, Smith played for the

Brisbane Bandits The Brisbane Bandits are a professional baseball team in Brisbane, Queensland that plays in the Australian Baseball League and is one of the six founding teams of the league. From the 2010/11 season till the 2012/13 season their home ballpark w ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

, where he posted a 3–3 record, 2.31 ERA, and 65 strikeouts in 50 innings. He returned to the Washington Wild Things in 2012, where he logged a 9-6 record and 2.92 ERA in 19 appearances.

New York Yankees

On January 3, 2013, Smith signed a minor league contract with the

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

organization, but did not play that year due to a stress fracture in his forearm. In 2014, he was assigned to their Class-A affiliate, the

Charleston RiverDogs The Charleston RiverDogs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League. They are located in Charleston, South Carolina, and are the Single-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The RiverDogs' home stadium is Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park. Hi ...

. He was later promoted to the Advanced-A

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

, and in 32 total relief appearances, posted a 1–2 record, 2.98 ERA, and 49 strikeouts in 51 innings. Smith began the 2015 season with Tampa, and in May earned a promotion to the Double-A

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 ...

. At the end of May he was sent back to Tampa, and on July 26, Smith was released by the Yankees organization.

Toronto Blue Jays

On August 1, 2015, Smith signed a minor league contract with the

and played with the Advanced-A

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

and Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

. Smith made 31 total relief appearances in 2015, and pitched to a 4–2 record, 2.05 ERA, and 57 strikeouts in 52 innings. In the offseason, he played for the Gigantes de Carolina of the

Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (LBPRC) is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico; it is colloquially referred to as the Puerto Rican Winter League. Consisting of seven teams as of the 2020–21 season, the league's ...

. Smith was assigned to New Hampshire to open the 2016 minor league season, and earned a late-season promotion to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

. He recorded a stellar campaign, making 47 appearances and posting a 1–3 record, 1.93 ERA, 76 strikeouts, and 15 saves in 60 innings. Smith was called up by the Blue Jays for the first time on September 27, 2016; however, he didn't make an appearance for the team. After

Jason Grilli Jason Michael Grilli (born November 11, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Los A ...

was designated for assignment on June 27, 2017, Smith was recalled by the Blue Jays. On August 12, Smith was designated for assignment. On November 7, 2017, Smith elected free agency.

Washington Nationals

On December 21, 2017, Smith signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, where he posted a 4-5 record and 3.93 ERA in 49 appearances. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Detroit Tigers

On December 13, 2018, Smith signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers organization. Early in spring training, Smith suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which required Tommy John surgery. Smith was released by the Tigers on March 5, 2019, after the season ending injury. Smith re-signed with the Tigers on a minor league deal on February 7, 2020. Smith did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. He was released by the Tigers organization on July 3, 2020. On June 27, 2021, Smith announced his retirement from professional baseball via Twitter.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Chris 1988 births American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Louisville, Kentucky Brisbane Bandits players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Butler High School alumni Charleston RiverDogs players Dunedin Blue Jays players Gigantes de Carolina players Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers baseball players Lake Erie Crushers players Living people Major League Baseball pitchers New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Tampa Yankees players Toronto Blue Jays players Traverse City Beach Bums players Trenton Thunder players Washington Wild Things players American expatriate baseball players in Australia Gigantes del Cibao players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Estrellas Orientales players Syracuse Chiefs players