Tag Archive | "Lee Smith"

Jason Motte and Cardinals Reach Agreement

Posted on 22 January 2013. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Motte I70

ST. LOUIS, Mo, January 22, 2013 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed to terms with pitcher Jason Motte on a two-year contract for the 2013 and 2014 seasons, avoiding salary arbitration.

Motte, 30, tied for the National League lead with a career high 42 saves in 2012 and became the first Cardinal in franchise history to record every save during the season. The right-hander ranked 9th among N.L. relievers last season with a career high 86 strikeouts, 8th with a .191 opponent’s batting average and T11th in innings pitched (72.0). He also ranked second in the league with 58 games finished.

“We are excited to be able to have Jason under control for the next two years,” said team Sr. Vice President & General Manager, John Mozeliak. “We wanted to recognize what Jason has accomplished for the Cardinals and the role he has played in our bullpen. He exemplifies the type of player on and off the field we want in our organization, and we’re looking forward to having him part of the team for the next two seasons.”

Motte made his Major League debut with the Cardinals in 2008 and since that time has a 17-13 career record with 54 saves. His 54 saves rank 11th all-time among Cardinals relievers, and his 42 saves last season marked the 6th-highest total in a single season, becoming just the fourth Cardinal in franchise history to reach the 40-save plateau (Bruce Sutter, Lee Smith, Jason Isringhausen).

From MLBTradeRumors.com - The agreement buys out Motte’s two final years of arbitration, but won’t delay his path to free agency. He still projects to hit the open market following the 2014 season. Motte had filed for a $5.5MM salary for 2013 and the Cardinals had countered with $4.5MM, as MLBTR’s Arbitration Tracker shows. The 30-year-old set himself up for a raise from his 2012 salary of $1.95MM by posting a 2.75 ERA with 10.8 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 and an NL-best 42 saves this past season.

The deal is worth $12MM and includes performance bonuses, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter).

Motte’s signing leaves two arbitration eligible players left unsigned: third baseman David Freese and left handed pitcher Marc Rzepczynski.

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Cooperstown Choices: Lee Smith

Posted on 08 January 2012. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

With the Hall Of Fame election announcement coming on January 9, 2012, it is time to review the ballot, go over the names, and decide who belongs in the Hall Of Fame.

There are twenty seven men on the ballot this year and we will take a look at each one individually prior to official announcements. You can find all of the profiles in the I-70 Baseball Exclusives: Cooperstown Choices 2012 menu at the top of the page.

Tune in Saturday, January 7, 2012 as I-70 Baseball Radio will host a panel of writers discussing the Hall Of Fame Ballot in a 2-hour special.

In this article, we take a look at Lee Smith

Lee Smith
The tall closer spent 18 seasons in Major League Baseball with eight different teams. He debuted in 1980 with the Chicago Cubs and played his final Major League game in 1997 with the Montreal Expos. This is his ninth year on the ballot.

Year Tm W L ERA G SV IP H R ER SO ERA+ WHIP SO/9 SO/BB
1980 CHC 2 0 2.91 18 0 21.2 21 9 7 17 138 1.615 7.1 1.21
1981 CHC 3 6 3.51 40 1 66.2 57 31 26 50 106 1.320 6.8 1.61
1982 CHC 2 5 2.69 72 17 117.0 105 38 35 99 139 1.214 7.6 2.68
1983 CHC 4 10 1.65 66 29 103.1 70 23 19 91 229 1.074 7.9 2.22
1984 CHC 9 7 3.65 69 33 101.0 98 42 41 86 107 1.317 7.7 2.46
1985 CHC 7 4 3.04 65 33 97.2 87 35 33 112 131 1.218 10.3 3.50
1986 CHC 9 9 3.09 66 31 90.1 69 32 31 93 131 1.229 9.3 2.21
1987 CHC 4 10 3.12 62 36 83.2 84 30 29 96 137 1.386 10.3 3.00
1988 BOS 4 5 2.80 64 29 83.2 72 34 26 96 148 1.303 10.3 2.59
1989 BOS 6 1 3.57 64 25 70.2 53 30 28 96 116 1.217 12.2 2.91
1990 TOT 5 5 2.06 64 31 83.0 71 24 19 87 189 1.205 9.4 3.00
1990 BOS 2 1 1.88 11 4 14.1 13 4 3 17 224 1.535 10.7 1.89
1990 STL 3 4 2.10 53 27 68.2 58 20 16 70 182 1.136 9.2 3.50
1991 STL 6 3 2.34 67 47 73.0 70 19 19 67 158 1.137 8.3 5.15
1992 STL 4 9 3.12 70 43 75.0 62 28 26 60 110 1.173 7.2 2.31
1993 TOT 2 4 3.88 63 46 58.0 53 25 25 60 104 1.155 9.3 4.29
1993 STL 2 4 4.50 55 43 50.0 49 25 25 49 89 1.160 8.8 5.44
1993 NYY 0 0 0.00 8 3 8.0 4 0 0 11 1.125 12.4 2.20
1994 BAL 1 4 3.29 41 33 38.1 34 16 14 42 153 1.174 9.9 3.82
1995 CAL 0 5 3.47 52 37 49.1 42 19 19 43 136 1.358 7.8 1.72
1996 TOT 3 4 3.74 54 2 55.1 57 24 23 41 119 1.500 6.7 1.58
1996 CAL 0 0 2.45 11 0 11.0 8 4 3 6 205 1.000 4.9 2.00
1996 CIN 3 4 4.06 43 2 44.1 49 20 20 35 106 1.624 7.1 1.52
1997 MON 0 1 5.82 25 5 21.2 28 16 14 15 73 1.662 6.2 1.88
18 Seasons 71 92 3.03 1022 478 1289.1 1133 475 434 1251 132 1.256 8.7 2.57
162 Game Avg. 5 6 3.03 68 32 85 75 31 29 83 132 1.256 8.7 2.57
W L ERA G SV IP H R ER SO ERA+ WHIP SO/9 SO/BB
CHC (8 yrs) 40 51 2.92 458 180 681.1 591 240 221 644 134 1.255 8.5 2.44
STL (4 yrs) 15 20 2.90 245 160 266.2 239 92 86 246 128 1.151 8.3 3.62
BOS (3 yrs) 12 7 3.04 139 58 168.2 138 68 57 209 137 1.287 11.2 2.65
CAL (2 yrs) 0 5 3.28 63 37 60.1 50 23 22 49 145 1.293 7.3 1.75
MON (1 yr) 0 1 5.82 25 5 21.2 28 16 14 15 73 1.662 6.2 1.88
CIN (1 yr) 3 4 4.06 43 2 44.1 49 20 20 35 106 1.624 7.1 1.52
NYY (1 yr) 0 0 0.00 8 3 8.0 4 0 0 11 1.125 12.4 2.20
BAL (1 yr) 1 4 3.29 41 33 38.1 34 16 14 42 153 1.174 9.9 3.82
NL (14 yrs) 58 76 3.03 771 347 1014.0 907 368 341 940 128 1.252 8.3 2.59
AL (7 yrs) 13 16 3.04 251 131 275.1 226 107 93 311 145 1.268 10.2 2.53
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/30/2011.

Why He Should Get In
Lee Smith was one of the first dominant closers in Major League Baseball. He was one of the first pitchers to spend his entire career closing out ball games and led the league four different times in saves. He would make seven All Star appearances and finished in the top ten of the Cy Young voting four times. He saved 478 games in his career and averaged almost a strikeout per inning over his 18 years.

Why He Should Not Get In
Writers are still new to the idea of closers being worthy of Hall Of Fame recognition. As they warm to the idea, however, there is very little reason to exclude Lee Smith.

Bill Ivie is the editor here at I-70 Baseball as well as the Assignment Editor for BaseballDigest.com.
He is the host of I-70 Radio, hosted every week on BlogTalkRadio.com.
Follow him on Twitter here.

Posted in Classic, Cooperstown Choices 2012, I-70 Baseball ExclusivesComments (1)

P1ay1ng Wi7h Numb3r5

Posted on 02 December 2011. Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I like playing with numbers sometimes, so let me run these past you to chew on:

  • 3rd all-time in the most measurable category for his position (saves), sandwiched between future & current Hall of Famers.
  • 4 times, he finished in the top 25 in MVP voting, including a top ten finish
  • 7-time All-Star
  • Set a then NL record with 47 saves in 1991
  • Finished 2nd in the 1991 Cy Young award voting, behind Tom Glavine
  • 3-time Rolaids Releif Man of the Year (NL twice, AL once)
Since 1964, only 5 men have held the career saves record for longer than one year. Two are in the HOF (Hoyt Wilhelm & Rollie Fingers). You’ve probably heard of the three that aren’t: Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, and Lee Smith. If you’re like me, as soon as you read that you thought, “Wait a minute, Mo & The (other) Hoff are sure-fire Hall of Famers.”

Lee Smith pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1990 to 1993

So, why isn’t Lee Smith as “sure fire” as the others?

Scouted by one of the top 100 (by nearly everyone’s count) baseball men of all time, Buck O’Neil, Smith’s career as a top closer is strewn with accolades that are sure to impress anyone. Anyone, apparently, except for at least 331 members of the BBWAA who have HOF voting privileges. Lee received just 45.3% of the votes last year, falling short of the 75% required for HOF induction. 2012 will mark his 10th year of eligibility on the ballot.Facts surrounding the career Lee Arthur Smith:

  • He held the career saves record from 1993 to 2006, when HOFfman passed him (see what I did there?)
  • From 1983 to 1995 (13 seasons), he saved fewer than 29 games exactly once (1989)
  • From 1985 to 1990 (6 straight seasons), he averaged >1K/IP (HOF Gossage’s max, 4)
  • He recorded his first save in 1981, at the time the MLB record for career saves was 272
  • He recorded his last save in 1997, at which time the record was his, at 478
  • Since his departure from the game, Goose Gossage, Rollie Fingers, and Bruce Sutter have all been elected to the Hall of Fame

Current Hall of Famer closers include: Gossage, Fingers, Sutter, Wilhelm, and Eckersley. For the sake of argument, I’ll toss Hoffman and Rivera into the mix of guys with whom I’ll compare Lee’s numbers.

Career Saves:

  1. Rivera (603, and counting),
  2. Hoffman (601)
  3. Smith (478)
  4. Eckersley (390)
  5. Fingers (341)
  6. Gossage (310)
  7. Sutter (300)
  8. Wilhelm (227, ten behind Ugueth Urbina)

Career Games Finished:

  1. Rivera (883)
  2. Hoffman (856)
  3. Smith (802)
  4. Fingers (709)
  5. Gossage (681)
  6. Wilhelm (651)
  7. Eckersley (577)
  8. Sutter (512)

Obviously, the numbers I’ve put before you today don’t tell the whole story. We all know that you can usually present numbers in such a way to make them tell the story you want them to tell. You have to dig a little deeper to get the entire story. Consider that the very role of closer is something that’s relatively new, in terms of comparing to other “positions” like shortstop or left fielder. That’s a factor in comparing these men to each other.

Does the fact that Sutter needed only 512 games finished to collect 300 saves (.586) speak to how lights-out he must’ve been when taking the mound? It certainly tells part of that story. Isn’t it interesting that Hoyt Wilhelm finished 651 games, but complied only 237 career saves (.364)? If that doesn’t make you think a little bit, I’m not sure what would–he’s in Cooperstown, for crying out loud! Check out some of the rankings and compare career numbers of closers, and I assure you you’ll find some very interesting things!

My point is that if you don’t think Lee Smith belongs in the Hall of Fame, maybe you’re looking at a different set of numbers than I am. And just so it doesn’t go unsaid, Lee Smith was absolutely among the most dominant men at his position for a sustained period of time during his era. (I know some folks out there, that’s a big factor for HOF consideration.)

The question should not be, “Does Lee Smith belong in the Baseball Hall of Fame?”. After spending time with the cubs, Red Sox, Cardinals, Yankees, Orioles, Angels, Reds, and Expos, the only question should be, “Which hat will he be wearing in his plaque?”.

Posted in Cardinals, Classic, FeaturedComments (1)


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