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 | G | SV | IP | H | R | ER | SO | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | G | SV | IP | H | R | ER | SO | |||||||
| 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 | |
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.
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