Ozzie Smith
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Osborne Earl Smith, known as Ozzie Smith (born December 26, 1954), is a former Major League baseball player born in Mobile, Alabama. Smith is a 13-time Gold Glove shortstop who was elected to the United States Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. He is widely cited as the greatest defensive player of all time at his position, hence his nickname "The Wizard of Oz".
Smith broke in with the San Diego Padres, and then was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982. He promptly led the team to the World Series championship in his first year, defeating the Milwaukee Brewers 4 games to 3. The team reached the World Series again in 1985, thanks in large part to a game winning home run Smith hit in the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They went on to lose the Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games. They also lost the 1987 World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games.
A weak hitter early in his career, Smith improved at the plate through the years. He never had much power; however, because of his speed and somewhat average hitting skills he developed over the years, he was able to serve as a competent leadoff hitter. His real asset was his glove, with which he often won more ballgames than the hitters on his team did. Smith also had some speed, and had 580 steals in his total career, good for 20th on the all time list.
Ozzie's greatest season came in 1987, when he had a .303 batting average, 43 stolen bases, 75 RBIs, 104 runs scored, and 40 doubles en route to helping the Cardinals get into the playoffs. It was one of the best seasons ever recorded by a weak power leadoff hitter like Smith (who had no home runs that season). He ended up second in the MVP balloting to Andre Dawson, who had played on the last-placed Chicago Cubs, largely because he and fellow Cardinal Willie McGee split the first place vote.
Following the 1987 season, Ozzie was awarded the highest contract in the National League at $2,340,000. He continued to be a good leadoff hitter with saavy baserunning skills and excellent fielding for the rest of his career.
Smith is only the 37th player of the 252 elected to the Hall to date to be so honored in his first year of eligibility.
Shortly after his playing days were over, Smith took over from the late Mel Allen as the host of the long running TV series This Week in Baseball.
His son, Nikko Smith, was a contestant on the popular American television series American Idol in the spring of 2005. However, viewers voted him off of the show on the April 6 episode.
External links
- Link to Ozzie Smith's page in the Baseball Hall of Fame website (http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers_and_honorees/hofer_bios/Smith_Ozzie.htm)
- Ozzie Smith's career statistics at Baseball-Reference.com (http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithoz01.shtml)
- Ozzie's Restaurant & Sports Bar in St. Louis (http://www.ozziesrestaurant.com/)
Categories: Baseball Hall of Fame | 1981 National League All-Stars | 1982 National League All-Stars | 1983 National League All-Stars | 1984 National League All-Stars | 1985 National League All-Stars | 1986 National League All-Stars | 1987 National League All-Stars | 1988 National League All-Stars | 1989 National League All-Stars | 1990 National League All-Stars | 1991 National League All-Stars | 1992 National League All-Stars | 1994 National League All-Stars | 1995 National League All-Stars | 1996 National League All-Stars | San Diego Padres players | St. Louis Cardinals players | Major league shortstops | 1954 births | African American athletes | People from Alabama