OZZIE SMITH

'Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith' (born December 26, 1954, in Mobile, Alabama) is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2003, he was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Nicknamed '"The Wizard of Oz"', he is widely cited as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, having won 13 Gold Glove Awards during his career.

Contents

Career

Post-baseball

See also

References

External links

Career

Ozzie's parents, both from New York, encouraged him to play baseball from a young age. Ozzie went to Locke High School in South Los Angeles, where he played baseball with Eddie Murray. He was first selected in the seventh round of the 1976 amateur entry draft by the Detroit Tigers. However, Smith and the Tigers were unable to agree on contract parameters, and the Tigers were more comfortable with the plate presence of Alan Trammell. Ozzie went back into the draft pool the following season, where he was drafted in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres. After only one season in the minor leagues with low-level Walla Walla, Smith broke in with the Padres in 1978 at the age of 23. He would spend four seasons with the Padres before being traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982. He promptly led the team to the World Series, in which the Cardinals defeated the Milwaukee Brewers four games to three. The team reached the World Series again in 1985, thanks in large part to Smith's game-winning home run in the NLCS against Tom Niedenfuer of the Los Angeles Dodgers. This homer was made famous for its radio call by broadcaster Jack Buck: "Smith corks one into right, down the line! It may go! [home run lands] Go crazy folks, go crazy!" They went on to lose the World Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games. They also lost the 1987 World Series to the Minnesota Twins in seven games in an unusual series where each team won games only in their own home stadium.
A weak hitter early in his career, Smith never developed much power at the plate, but his hitting improved over the years, and his speed allowed him to serve as a competent leadoff hitter. Smith stole 580 career bases, 20th on the all-time list. But his most potent asset were his glove and his defensive reflexes, with which he often won more ball games than the hitters on his team did. Former manager Whitey Herzog claimed that at his peak Smith saved 75 runs per year with his glove.^[1]
He is perhaps best known for his time playing for manager Whitey Herzog, under whose watch players were known for being scrappy, continually pushing singles to doubles (and doubles to triples), stealing bases, playing aggressively, and continually pushing the opposing teams to catch them in the act. This management and play style has been dubbed "Whiteyball." Even though he was not a slugger, Smith's speed was an excellent match to this playing style, which ultimately lead to their 1982 World Series victory and their 1985 National League Pennant.
Smith's greatest season came in 1987, when he had a .303 batting average, 43 stolen bases, 75 RBIs, 104 runs scored, and 40 doubles. He mostly batted second in the lineup; his plate discipline allowed him to post a career high on-base percentage of .392. This performance helped the Cardinals get into the playoffs. Smith ended up second in the MVP balloting to Andre Dawson, who had played on the last-placed Chicago Cubs, largely because he and teammate Jack Clark split the first-place vote.
Following the 1987 season, Ozzie was awarded the largest contract in the National League at $2,340,000.^[2]
In 1999, he ranked Number 87 on ''The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.
Smith is remembered for his acrobatics in the field as a versatile shortstop and for the ritual backflip he performed before opening days, All-Star Games, and postseason games. Though he dropped this routine late in his career, he reprised it for "Ozzie Day" on September 28, 1996, when the Cardinals honored his impending retirement with a ceremony before the game against the Cincinnati Reds.
Many say he made the greatest play of all time in his rookie season with the Padres in 1978. After Atlanta's Jeff Burroughs hit a grounder up the middle, Smith dove to his left. But the ball hit a stone in the dirt and took a crazy bounce in the opposite direction. Quickly, Smith reached up with his bare right hand. In one motion, he ripped the ball out of the air, sprang up, and threw Burroughs out at first base. Smith himself called it "the toughest play I've ever had," and in an informal survey of big leaguers, most mentioned this play as the most amazing they have ever seen.
Smith holds the record for the most assists by a major league shortstop with 621. He also holds the record for the most at-bats without hitting a grand slam.
Shortly after his playing days were over, Smith took over for Mel Allen as the host of the long-running TV series ''This Week in Baseball''. During his career, Smith appeared in ''The Simpsons'' in the "Homer at the Bat" episode.

Post-baseball

Following his retirement from baseball, Smith has refused to associate himself with the Cardinals in any official capacity, although he continues to make public appearances embracing the franchise. Smith has stated that he will not work with the organization as long as the current management is in charge. Smith has said he is still upset at current Cardinal manager Tony La Russa for making newly acquired Royce Clayton the starting shortstop in 1996, despite a superior offensive performance by Smith in spring training. The Cardinals had traded for Clayton during the previous offseason as a precautionary move in case Smith did not fully recover from an earlier injury. Smith's playing time shrank under La Russa's management despite his continuing to outhit Clayton throughout the 1996 regular season, and he retired at season's end. The Cardinals traded Clayton less than two years after Smith's retirement.^[3]

See also

★ List of major league players with 2,000 hits

★ List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles

★ List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs

★ List of Major League Baseball players with 500 stolen bases

★ List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases

References

1. Baseball Library Entry
2. 1988 National League Leader Boards
3. ''Ten years later, Ozzie Smith, La Russa still feuding''

External links

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★ St. Louis Walk of Fame

Accomplishments