Dave Smith (pitcher, born 1955)

Smith was born in Richmond, California, and attended San Diego State University. He was drafted in the 8th round (169th overall) of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft. He was signed by scout Bob Cluck.

Smith got his start in the 1980 season on April 11 against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sent in for the top of the eighth inning, Smith allowed two walks and a hit but did not allow a run. The Astros rallied in the bottom of the inning for five runs to victory, which meant that Smith earned his first win. [1] Smith would appear in 57 games that year while pitching 102.2 innings (a career high), collecting ten saves while having a 7-5 record with a 1.93 ERA. He struck out 85 batters while walking 32 of them, and he received votes in the Rookie of the Year balloting, finishing fifth. That year, the Astros would reach the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Smith would appear in three games of the 1980 National League Championship Series. In Game 2, he pitched to seven batters in the seventh/eighth inning, allowing one run to score while the Astros won 7-4. In Game 3, he was tasked to pitch the eleventh inning of a scoreless tie. He allowed one hit and a walk before the Astros rallied in the bottom of the inning for a walk-off victory.[2] This set the stage for a pivotal Game 4, where if the Astros won it they would advance to the World Series. In the top of the eighth inning, he was sent to replace Vern Ruhle, who had seen his shutout end on a Pete Rose single. Facing Mike Schmidt on a full count, Smith allowed a single that scored Lonnie Smith to tie the game. Smith was taken out of Joe Sambito, but the Phillies tacked on another run to take the lead. While the Astros rallied to force it into extra innings, the Phillies won the game in the tenth inning (with three hits off Sambito) and won the series the next day.[3]

The following year, Smith pitched in 42 games with 75 innings pitched while collecting eight saves with 52 strikeouts and 23 walks and a 2.76 ERA. The Astros returned to the postseason that year and met the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1981 National League Division Series (a consequence of the strike). Smith pitched the ninth and tenth inning of Game 1 in a game that ended with an 11th inning victory for Houston.[4] Smith pitched to two batters of the decisive Game 5 and allowed one run on a hit in the 4-0 loss.[5] Smith started exactly one game in his career, doing so on June 25, 1982 against the Dodgers. He lasted two innings while allowing four hits and three runs.[6]

Smith served as the team's primary closer after the 1984 season ended; he had saved forty games in his first five seasons, but he would save 159 games over the next six seasons for the Astros. In 1986, Smith pitched 56 innings with 54 appearances in games, which resulted in 33 saves with a 2.73 ERA and a 4-7 record while striking out 46 batters with 22 walks. He was named to the All-Star Game that year. Smith and the Astros returned to the postseason that season. He would pitch Game 3 and Game 6 of the 1986 National League Championship Series. In Game 3, he was brought in to save the ninth inning of a 5-4 lead for Houston. However, a hit allowed to Wally Backman set the stage for Lenny Dykstra, who would hit a deep shot to right field for a home run that won the game for the Mets. Game 6 would later be referred to as one of the most memorable postseason games in history, but not for Smith or the Astros. He was sent to pitch the ninth inning to take over for Bob Knepper, who had allowed two runs to score on three hits. With a 3-2 lead (with a runner on base and one out), Smith walked two batters to load the bases. That set the stage for Ray Knight to tie the game with a sacrifice fly deep enough in right to score the tying run. He pitched the tenth inning and allowed no hits, but the Astros would lose in the sixteenth inning.[7][8]

Smith pitched his final year with the Astros in 1990. He made the All-Star team that season, pitching with a 2.39 ERA in 49 games and 60.1 innings while collecting 23 saves with fifty strikeouts and twenty walks to go with a 6-6 record. Smith elected to leave the Astros in free agency after the 1990 season ended, signing with the Chicago Cubs ten days after being granted free agency. He pitched in 35 games for 33 innings pitched for a 6.00 ERA, striking out sixteen batters with nineteen walks while going 0-6 with seventeen saves. The following year was his last in the majors, as he pitched in eleven games before being released in June. He had a 2.51 ERA in 14.1 innings and eleven games pitched. In his last game on June 8 against the St. Louis Cardinals, he went 1.2 innings and allowed two runs on four hits.[9] His career win-loss record was 53-53. He holds the Astros record for games pitched (586) and home runs per nine innings (0.331). His 2.53 ERA is third-best in Astros history. His 199 saves was a team record until Billy Wagner passed him. [10] Smith had 216 total saves (with 52 blown opportunities).

After his playing career ended, he briefly served as a pitching coach for the San Diego Padres. He was one of the Directors of The San Diego School of Baseball for nearly 30 years. Smith died of a heart attack on December 17, 2008, in San Diego, California.[11]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs
• Dave Smith page at AstrosDaily.com
• AP Obituary in the Houston Chronicle
• Dave Smith - 1975, 1976 Alaska Goldpanners