Cooperstown 2013: Lee Smith

LEE SMITH
Eleventh Year on Ballot (2012 - 50.6%)

PLAYING CAREER:
Chicago Cubs (1980–1987), Boston Red Sox (1988–1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1990–1993), New York Yankees (1993), Baltimore Orioles (1994), California Angels (1995–1996), Cincinnati Reds (1996) and Montreal Expos (1997)

ACHIEVEMENTS:
Ranks third all-time with 478 saves. Career ERA of 3.03 in 1022 games with 1251 strikeouts. All-time leader in saves and games finished at the time of his retirement. 13 consecutive seasons (1983-1995) with more than 20 saves, 10 seasons with 30 or more...and three seasons with 40 or more. Led the league in saves four times (1983, 1991, 1992 and 1994). Three-time Rolaids Relief Man of the Year (1991, 1992 and 1994). All-time Chicago Cubs saves leader. Holds National League record for most consecutive errorless games by a pitcher with 546. Seven-time All-Star (1983, 1987 and 1991-1995).

CASE FOR/AGAINST:
It’s hard to see why Lee Smith’s bust isn’t already a closing out the end of Baseball’s Hall already. In the 11 years since he took his last very (verrrrrrry) long walk off the mound, his accomplishments have not only stood up to the test of time, but have ultimately served as the measuring mark for an entire era of a role he helped to inspire.

Voters have become kinder to closers as of late, the inclusion of Bruce Sutter showed that. However, like Rollie Fingers and Goose Gossage before him, Sutter being confined to definition as closer isn’t accurate in the modern, more permanent definition of the role. It was his job to get saves, but also end games as a whole over multiple innings. Big Lee was the best of the one-inning door slammers that are so valued in the game today, and his accomplishments in fortifying that role deserve to be recognized.

A seven-time All-Star, his 478 saves were the all-time record for nearly ten years until Trevor Hoffman finally surpassed it. In between that, the focus on the ninth-inning closer had become the norm, and it still took Hoffman seven seasons of over 40 saves in-between Smith’s retirement and his record breaking date to pass him.

Smith was the best at role that became the norm during his career. He was at once the career saves leader for both the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs, two franchises not short on history. If the point of the Hall is to recognize the peak contributors to the game, there’s no way that another late inning warrior should be recognized in its ranks before Lee Arthur Smith is.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Matt Whitener is a freelance writer national baseball writer and member of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. He has been active in the blogosphere since 2009, and is also a published periodical writer as well. He is a featured columnist and creative baseball lead at The Sports Fan Journal online, and continues to put out weekly content at his original blog, CheapSeatsPlease.wordpress.com. Follow on Twitter at @CheapSeatFan and on Facebook as well.

Breaking Down the 2012 Hall of Fame Ballot

On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers Association of America announced the upcoming 2012 Hall of Fame ballot.  Included are 27 candidates (down from last year's 33)...13 newcomers and, like last year, 14 holdovers.

Unlike last year, when Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven got the obvious call, there are no shoe-ins whatsoever.

Leading the pack of returners is 1995 National League MVP, Barry Larkin...who is on his third ballot.  A year ago, the longtime Cincinnati Reds shortstop finished third overall with 62.1% of the vote.

Other holdovers include Jack Morris (53.5%), Lee Smith (45.3%), Jeff Bagwell (41.7%), Tim  Raines (37.5%), Edgar Martinez (32.9%), Alan Trammell (24.3%), Larry Walker (20.3%), Fred McGriff (17.9%), Don Mattingly (13.6%) and Dale Murphy (12.6%).

Three others, Mark McGwire (19.8%), Rafael Palmeiro (11.0%) and Juan Gonzalez (5.2%) are obviously adorned with the steroid scarlett letter and have about as much of a shot of making it in as you or me.

There are no notable newcomers on the ballot, which makes this a boring, boring ballot.

Leading the pack, however is possibly the most accomplished of the first ballot guys...New York Yankees fan favorite Bernie Williams.

Good friend of The Hall "Bald Vinny" might have Williams on his Yankees Mt. Rushmore, but it isn't likely that the Hall of Fame will welcome him. Sure, his .297 career batting average (including eight straight seasons of .300 or more), 2336 hits and 22 post season home runs are things of recent Yankee lore…but they are nothing but a blip on the radar of what gets mentioned alongside the names of those in Cooperstown

Other notable first ballot guys...Javy Lopez, Ruben Sierra and Vinny Castilla.

It's been a long time, but back in the day, I think we all might have been tempted to make the argument that Lopez was on his way to something. Then, well, the train left the tracks and I'm not really sure what happened to the guy. He ended his career with a respectable .287 batting average and 260 home runs.

20 years ago, Sierra was, along with Hall of Very Good frenemy Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and Pete Incaviglia, THE future of baseball and you would have been hard pressed to find anyone to agree with you. Now, after 306 home runs and 1322 RBI…he’s an interesting footnote to an era that has long since passed.

Was Castilla a very good hitting third baseman or another one of those who was helped by the much ballyhooed Coors Effect? Both?!? Any way you slice it, his 320 home runs and near perfect hair doesn’t get him through the doors of Cooperstown without paying first.

Rounding out the ballot...Jeromy Burnitz, former two-sport star Brian Jordan, Bill Mueller, Terry Mulholland, Phil Nevin, Brad Radke, 1993 American League Rookie of the Year Tim Salmon, Tony Womack and Eric Young.

Voting results will be announced Monday, January 9.

Cooperstown 2011: Lee Smith

LEE SMITH
Ninth Year on Ballot  (47.3%)

PLAYING CAREER: Chicago Cubs (1980–1987), Boston Red Sox (1988–1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1990–1993), New York Yankees (1993), Baltimore Orioles (1994), California Angels (1995–1996), Cincinnati Reds (1996) and Montreal Expos (1997)

ACHIEVEMENTS:  Ranks third all-time with 478 saves.  Career ERA of 3.03 in 1022 games with 1251 strikeouts.  All-time leader in saves and games finished at the time of his retirement.  13 consecutive seasons (1983-1995) with more than 20 saves, 10 seasons with 30 or more...and three seasons with 40 or more.  Led the league in saves four times (1983, 1991, 1992 and 1994).  Three-time Rolaids Relief Man of the Year (1991, 1992 and 1994).  All-time Chicago Cubs saves leader.  Holds National League record for most consecutive errorless games by a pitcher with 546.  Seven-time All-Star (1983, 1987 and 1991-1995).
 
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ON TWITTER:

@Toirtap:  If you can't vote for a DH because he "solely contributes offensively", how can you justify voting for Lee Smith and John Franco?

@dhockeyfeed:  Lee Smith: the most dominent closer of his era?

@hbryant42:  Five days to send in HOF ballot: Alomar and Blyleven...with two undecided (Larkin, Lee Smith)  

HOVG THOUGHTS:  I met the guy a while back and the man is intimidating. Smith seemed bigger than life standing next to me (I'm 6'4") and shaking his hand was like grabbing a tractor tire. I can only imagine what it was like having him throw something in your direction from sixty feet, six inches. Now, while that is not a reason to induct someone (if it was, Tim Stoddard would be enshrined), Smith’s 478 saves were pretty darn good. For 13 years, Smith was the all-time saves leader and up until recently, he held the record for most games finished. I mean, when a guy is getting his records broken by the likes or Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera he had to have been decent, right? Right?!?

Hall of Fame 2010: Lee Smith

From now until the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2010 is announced, The Hall is going to be breaking down each candidate. Some write ups will be lengthy...some will be the opposite. Some will be brand new pieces...some will be re-hashes of previous pieces.

I grew up in Illinois and I hate the Chicago Cubs.

Wrigley Field, the little “c” on their hats, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and the fact that they call themselves the “Lovable Losers”…they all get my goat (reference intended).

There are some Cubs I have liked however.

Nomar (naturally, but I would never consider him a “Cub”), Andre Dawson, Leon Durham and for some reason…Lee Arthur Smith.

I mean, here was a guy that when he entered the game…you knew it was over.

Sure, he’d give you a heart attack every now and again, but ultimately, he’d pick up the save and Cub fans could rejoice as the “W” flag was hoisted high above Wrigleyville.

Recently, we’ve seen a handful of closers make their way to Cooperstown…so why shouldn’t that trend continue? It’s almost like he’s the forgotten closer out there.

But I’m not sure why.

Right now, Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader with 591. Truth is, he was the first one to 500, but before Hoffman was the all-time leader…Smith was.

For 13 years.

Oh…and his 478 saves dwarfs the 310 and 300 that recent Hall inductees Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter notched.

But Smith must have been a one inning pitcher…guys like Goose consistently earned his saves by going two or more innings. I mean, that was what we heard last year when Gossage was knocking on the door of the Hall, right?

Well…so did Smith.

At the start of his career, Smith had a stretch of more than 830 innings pitched compared to 592 games played. That’s 83 or more innings pitched in eight of nine years. Three years in a row, he eclipsed 100 or more innings.

By comparison, a guy like Hoffman has nine years where he has pitched fewer innings than the number of games he’s appeared in. Actually, aside from Mariano Rivera…that seems to be the trend of many of the big name closers out there today.

Here’s a fun one for ya…raise your hand if you knew Lee Smith once held the record for most games finished in his career.

No one?

Hoffman (now at 820) recently surpassed Smith’s total 802. After that, Rivera (773) and Billy Wagner (639) are the only two active players within 200 games finished of Smith.

Speaking of closing out games (and getting back to saves), Smith had 13 years where he tallied 25 or more saves. Hoffman did it 14 out of 15 years (he was injured for most of 2003). Gossage and Sutter each had seven seasons TOTAL with 25 or more.

It is relatively common now, but in 1987, Smith became only the second pitcher EVER (Dan Quisenberry was the first) to reach 30 or more saves in four consecutive seasons. When it came to closing out games in the early 90s…Smith and Dennis Eckersley were by far the most dependable and durable pair out there.

And we all know where Eckersley’s career ended up.

The big knock on Smith is his ERA. People will complain up and down that the big fella gave up WAY too many runs to be considered for the Hall of Fame. They’ll suggest that a Hall worthy closer needs to have a microscopic ERA before they’ll even consider them. Sutter had a career ERA of 2.83, Rollie Fingers...2.90. Right ahead of Smith's career ERA of 3.03 is Gossage and his 3.01, so you can see that Lee isn't necessarily that far off the mark.

Another fun fact (thanks Wikipedia) that makes Smith a fun conversation piece is this...he is one of a small percentage of players (the list of pitchers is even smaller) to have their first big league hit be a home run.

Also on that list…Hall of Fame reliever Hoyt Wilhelm.

So, here we have Smith…a seven time All-Star, three times a top five finisher in the Cy Young Award voting. Will he make the Hall? He looks like a longshot when compared to the guys who dominate the highlights on a nightly basis, but I don’t think you can discredit him.

Even by looking at the votes he's gotten, he's on pace with what Sutter and Gossage did before him. Sutter was on the ballot 13 years before he got in and in his first year of eligibility...he only garnered 23% of the vote. Gossage wasn't much better. Nine years on the ballot, he ranged from the initial 33% to the eventual 85% he got last year. Smith has been on six years and hit the ballot strong with a 36% showing. This past year, he climbed to his highest total...45%. Remember, it only takes three-fourths of the writers to vote for you to get in and Sutter eeked by at 76%.

Compared to his contemporaries (which is what you must do when discussing the Hall of Fame), Smith stacks up statistically…he belongs in the conversation. Hell, he belongs right there at the beginning of the discussion, but the problem is, Smith has been the victim of so many modern day players…through free agency, he lost his identity.

It is much easier for the casual fan to embrace a player who toes the same rubber from year to year a la Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. But then again…if you are going to spend eight years with the Cubs and only be part of one winning ballclub, you can’t blame a guy.

I mean…who REALLY wants to be known as a lifelong “Loveable Loser”?

Hall of Fame ballot...2010 style!

Last Friday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America released the names of the 26 players that make up the 2010 Hall of Fame ballot.

Between now and when the results of the balloting are announced January 6, you’ll likely be subjected to dozens of writers who think they have an opinion as to who belongs and who doesn’t.

Unfortunately, I’m no different…so here we go!

Roberto Alomar. I’m huge on Alomar…can’t help it. The guy retired at 36 and still managed career numbers of 2724 hits and 1508 runs. Add to that his .300 career batting average and you’ve got one of the best second basemen ever to lace up the spikes. 12 straight All-Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves in an 11 year stretch and back-to-back World Series rings. Yeah…put him up the wall now and spare the writers this vote.

Kevin Appier. If I told you that Appier had a career ERA of 3.74 and ten years with ten or more wins would you care? No?!? Thought so.

Harold Baines. Alright, as huge as I am on Alomar…I’m just as huge on Baines. And yes, I know the “he was JUST a DH” speech so spare me the lecture. That being said, it needs to be pointed out that Baines holds the record for most games played at DH. His 2866 career base hits (40th all-time) means that he has the most hits of any player that is Hall eligible. Only Pete Rose, Craig Biggio, Rickey Henderson, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Bonds are ahead of him. Odds are that had Baines not had two work stoppages during his career, he would have eclipsed 3000 hits. Futhermore, he also has the most RBI of all Hall eligible players and ranks 29th all-time. So riddle me this…how does a guy like Baines barely get enough votes to stay Hall-eligible year after year? His lack of support is a joke.

Bert Blyleven. For some reason, Blyleven has become the sexy pick of everyone who has an opinion on who does and who doesn’t belong. That being said…I don’t know that he should be up there on the Cooperstown stage come July. Yes, I know, I know, I just went on and on about Harold Baines and now…I’m slamming Blyleven. The guy was a compiler. A damn good compiler…but a compiler nonetheless. Of his 287 victories, only once did he top 20 victories…and that was in a season where he went 20-17. And while he has more strikeouts than all but four pitchers, let’s look at the bigger picture…how many times did Bert lead the league in ERA? Wins? What about winning percentage? How many Cy Young Awards did this cat bring home? Zero. He was an All-Star twice, but c’mon…so was Esteban Loaiza. And frankly, when do you suppose the last (or first) time someone not named “Blyleven” uttered the words…”I sure do hope Bert’s on the hill today” on their way to the ballpark?

Ellis Burks. While I would never, ever, use the words “Ellis Burks” and “future Hall of Famer” in the same sentence, I was surprised to see that he had a career batting average of .291, belted 352 home runs and was robbed in 1996 of the National League MVP Award.

Andre Dawson. Like Jim Rice, I think Dawson will eventually get in. After a while, the writers will shrug their shoulders and say “why not?” An eight time All-Star, eight Gold Glove recipient, an MVP Award and Rookie of the Year honors…he was every bit as feared as people say Rice was. Add to that close to 2800 hits and those pesky 438 home runs and you’ve gotta admit…”The Hawk” was a special, special player.

Andres Galarraga. You can go both ways with the “Big Cat”. Take away the “Coors Factor” and Galarraga is the poor man’s Will Clark. Take into account that he did play in Colorado during the prime of his career and he’s borderline Willie Stargell-like. But let’s face it…you can’t ignore 399 home runs, 1425 RBI and a career .288 batting average. Wait, the writers do routinely…and, again, they call him “Harold Baines”.

Pat Hentgen. In 1996, Hentgen took home the American League Cy Young Award. This January, he’ll have celebrated his lone year on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Mike Jackson. Jackson is 12th all-time (among pitchers) in games played with 1005…three more than Goose Gossage. Pretty impressive until you realize that numbers 1 through 11 consist of such notables as Dan Plesac and two other “Mikes”…Mike Stanton and Mike Timlin. Something tells me that Cooperstown isn’t ready for the journeyman closer/set up man yet.

Eric Karros. See “Pat Hentgen”, but swap out “1996 American League Cy Young Award” with “1992 National League Rookie of the Year”. In short…same result.

Ray Lankford. You know, there used to be a time when I routinely confused Lankford with Brian Jordan and Bernard Gilkey. Next!

Barry Larkin. With all the hubbub that surrounded Cal Ripken and how he re-defined the position of shortstop over in the American League…Larkin was his equivalent in the National League. To an extent. With a career .295 batting average, 2340 hits and nine Silver Slugger Awards, the 1995 NL MVP brought some swagger back to what was a dead Big Red Machine…if only for a few years. I put him in.

Edgar Martinez. The argument FOR Martinez is that he is the “best DH ever”. The argument AGAINST Martinez is that he is the “best DH ever”. I’m not sure which side of the fence I fall on, but as long as Harold Baines is paying for his ticket…Martinez can stand in line behind him. Sure, Martinez has a .312 career batting average and ranks 22nd all-time in on base percentage (at .418)…but the guy only has 2247 hits and has a pretty empty trophy case to show for his 18 year career. And yes, even though the annual DH award is named after him…that isn’t good enough to garner a plaque on the wall.

Don Mattingly. Like most of the world, I was enamored with Mattingly when he hit the scene. I had his 1984 Donruss rookie card encased in Lucite and thought I was witnessing the second coming. During a six-year run beginning in 1984, Mattingly averaged 26 home runs, 114 RBIs and a .327 batting average. No player during that stretch had more RBI than Mattingly's 684 amd only Hall of Famer Wade Boggs (1,269) had more hits than Mattingly's 1,219. That six-year peak (from 1984 to 1989) is clearly one of the best of his generation and overall, his brief career stacks up with some others in the Hall. I’m not saying he goes in now, but I do think “Donnie Baseball” will hover on the ballot for a while longer and get his due from the Veterans Committee.

Fred McGriff. Now, this is where I might lose some of ya…I think the “Crime Dog” is a Hall of Famer. It’s true, he wasn’t a sexy player (no MVP Awards, only five All-Star Games), but his numbers stack up well with some of the other first basemen in the Hall. Of the 12 enshrined, only five of them drove in more runs (McGriff has 1550 RBI), only four hit more home runs (McGriff hit 493), and only three scored more runs (McGriff scored 1349 runs). McGriff needs to be enshrined soon, because (like Rice for 14 of the last 15 years), his numbers will pale in comparison to the contemporaries on the ballot.

Mark McGwire. Even without the steroids discussion, McGwire’s stats don’t warrant the lip service that everyone pays him. And while I’ve heard all the OPS arguments, you can take away his tremendous home run total and all you’ve got is a guy who played in a ton of All-Star games and had precious little to show for it. Sorry Mark…and it has nothing to do with whether or not you were juiced.

Jack Morris. Consistency and durability, while not THE reason to induct someone…has to be taken into consideration when judging someone’s worth. Morris was the epitome of a pitching “Iron Horse”. Matter of fact, this innings hog (he had eleven seasons of more than 235 innings pitched) holds the record for most consecutive opening day starts…14. And if you thought Cal Ripken’s streak was impressive (it was), Morris went nearly 500 starts without missing his turn in the rotation. Again, not a reason to bronze his head…but not too shabby either. Morris notched a career 254-186 record…good for a .577 winning percentage. His win total is more than Hall of Famers Bob Gibson, Juan Marichal, Whitey Ford and plenty of others. Hell, in the 80s alone…Morris went 162-119 and led the decade in both wins and complete games. He was the ace of three World Series teams (he was injured and couldn’t play in 1993 or else there’d be a fourth) and he threw a no hitter. I think the main reason Jack gets overlooked is his career ERA of 3.90. He never led the league (much less came close to it) and made no bones about the fact that he gave up a ton of runs. Will he get into the Hall? Probably not. Does he deserve to? Absolutely. Thankfully for Morris, the Veterans Committee does like to look at players that got close (he appeared on a best 41.2% of the ballots in 2006) but not close enough. Let’s hope that someday soon, the 80s won’t be as overlooked as they have been in the past.

Dale Murphy. It’s hard to remember how dominant Murphy was when he hit his peak in the mid-80s. Consider this…when he retired, his 398 home runs ranked 19th all-time. Now…he sits at 48. After winning his back-to-back MVP awards in 1982 and 1983, Murphy appeared to be on his way to Cooperstown. Now…not so much.

Dave Parker. If there was a “Badass Hall of Fame”, I’d put “The Cobra” in hands down. Matter of fact, I think he and Jack Morris would be on hand to deliver two of the inaugural speeches. Unfortunately, the only Hall of Fame worth mentioning here is saved for baseball players and as much as I’d like to see Parker’s toothy grin on that stage praising Willie Stargell and condemning Marge Schott…I’m afraid we’ll never see it happen.

Tim Raines. I always kinda thought that Raines was one of the best out there. Along with Rickey Henderson, there were really only two guys you would want to lead off for you. With a nice peak throughout the 80s, 2605 career hits, a .294 batting average and 808 steals, Raines is the kind of guy that might get some votes.

Shane Reynolds. Ugh.

David Segui. Double ugh.

Lee Smith. I met the guy a while back and the man is intimidating. Smith seemed bigger than life standing next to me (I'm 6'4") and shaking his hand was like grabbing a tractor tire. I can only imagine what it was like having him throw something in your direction from sixty feet, six inches. Now, while that is not a reason to induct someone (if it was, Tim Stoddard would be enshrined), Smith’s 478 saves were pretty darn good. For 13 years, Smith was the all-time saves leader and up until recently, he held the record for most games finished. I mean, when a guy is getting his records broken by the likes or Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera he had to have been decent, right? Right?!?

Alan Trammell. For some reason, Trammell has become the Bert Blyleven of some Hall of Fame discussions and I am not sure why. When he played, like Blyleven, he was so overshadowed by some of the other guys out there that no one would have considered him a lock for Cooperstown. Now, long after retiring and having spent a number of years on the ballot…people start banging his drum. Why? I liked Trammell, it’s true…but I don’t see it, gang.

Robin Ventura. Six times a Gold Glove recipient at third and a gang load of grand slams…but that’s about it.

Todd Zeile. See “Robin Ventura” but remove the flowery comments about Gold Gloves and grand slams.

So, I guess if you’re keeping track, my “YES” would go to Alomar, Baines, Dawson, Larkin, McGriff and Smith. I’m admittedly on the fence about Blyleven, Martinez and Raines and I think Mattingly and Morris will eventually get their due.

I guess we’ll see how it all unfolds in six weeks. Until then…keep reading and let me know what you think.

I'm late in saying it, but baseball is back, baby!

We’re three weeks into it, but the new baseball season is here.

Finally.

And, like a broken record, I was getting the same old advice about what to write about. Sure, “The Hall” has been dormant for a while (sorry, troops), but I don’t know that anyone has been paying attention to what I am writing when I hear comments like “you should make your predictions for the upcoming season” or “give me some tips as to who should I pick in my fantasy league”.

Fact of the matter is this…I make NO predictions (Red Sox over the Dodgers) and I’ve never legitimately finished first in any fantasy league I’ve take part in.

Ever.

So what to write about? Any knucklehead with a keyboard can bang out some reference to John Mayer doing play by play in Japan.

But I won’t.

Frank Thomas being released by the Blue Jays

Too easy…but it’s probably coming.

Me? I’m going the introspective route.

March 31 was the OFFICIAL beginning of Spring. It wasn’t March 21 like the calendars say. And it sure as Hell wasn’t when baseball trotted out its latest multi-cultural money maker last week. To me, those are both “Hallmark Holidays”.

For me, the minute that first pitch is thrown in Cincinnati marks the beginning of Spring.

Now, I realize that that might not be the most popular thing I’ve said (and for the record…this was), but along the way, I’ve been called plenty of names. Most of them are warranted…some not. Either way, everyone has a right to their opinion. But of all the names that have been hurled my way, there is one I don’t mind.

Contrarian.

Basically, a contrarian is a person who deliberately goes against the popular opinion. I’m not about to say I go against the grain on purpose…but there are definitely a few good examples of why people have hurled this moniker my way.

I’m a tried and true Star Wars dork, but I have ZERO desire to ever watch ANY of the Lord of the Rings movies.

I went to college in the 90s, yet loathe the Dave Matthews Band.

The kicker to most...I grew up in Illinois and I HATE the Chicago Cubs.

Wrigley Field, the little “c” on their hats, Ernie Banks, Ron Santo and the fact that they call themselves the “Lovable Losers”…they all get my goat (reference intended). I do find it endearing, however, that while Boston overwhelmingly embraced the arrival of Daisuke Matsuzaka…the “Lovable Losers” have these shirts available just outside the “Friendly Confines” to celebrate Kosuke Fukudome.

Blarg.

There are some Cubs I HAVE liked however.

Nomar (naturally, but I would never consider him a “Cub”), Andre Dawson, Leon Durham and for some reason…Lee Arthur Smith.

I mean, here was a guy that when he entered the game…you knew it was over. Sure, he’d give you a heart attack every now and again, but ultimately, he’d pick up the save and Cub fans could rejoice as the “W” flag was hoisted high above Wrigleyville.

Recently, we’ve seen a handful of closers make their way to Cooperstown…so why shouldn’t that trend continue with Lee Smith? It’s almost like he’s the forgotten closer out there.

But I’m not sure why.

Right now, Trevor Hoffman is the all-time saves leader. Truth is, he was the first one to 500 and every time he nails down another…it gets mentioned on SportsCenter. But before Hoffman was the all-time leader…Smith was.

For 13 years.

Oh…and his 478 saves dwarfs the 310 and 300 that recent Hall inductees Goose Gossage and Bruce Sutter notched.

But Smith must have been a one inning pitcher…guys like Goose consistently earned his saves by going two or more innings. I mean, that was what we heard last year when Gossage was knocking on the door of the Hall, right?

Well…so did Smith.

At the start of his career, Smith had a stretch of more than 830 innings pitched compared to 592 games played. That’s 83 or more innings pitched in eight of nine years. Three years in a row, he eclipsed 100 or more innings.

By comparison, a guy like Hoffman has seven years where he has pitched fewer innings than the number of games he’s appeared in. Actually, aside from Mariano Rivera…that seems to be the trend of many of the big name closers out there today.

Here’s a fun one for ya…raise your hand if you knew Lee Smith held the record for most games finished in his career.

No one?

Hoffman is second, nearly 70 behind Smith (737 to 802)…but after that, Rivera (664) and Billy Wagner (608) are the only two ACTIVE players within 200 games finished of Smith.

Speaking of closing out games (and getting back to saves), Smith had thirteen years where he tallied 25 or more saves. Hoffman did it 12 out of 13 years (he was injured for most of 2003). Gossage and Sutter each had seven seasons TOTAL with 25 or more.

It is relatively common now, but in 1987, Smith became only the second pitcher EVER (Dan Quisenberry was the first) to reach 30 or more saves in four consecutive seasons. When it came to closing out games in the early 90s…Smith and Dennis Eckersley were by far the most dependable and durable pair out there.

And we all know where Eckersley’s career ended up.

The big knock on Smith is his ERA. People will complain up and down that the big fella gave up WAY too many runs to be considered for the Hall of Fame. They’ll suggest that a Hall worthy closer needs to have a microscopic ERA before they’ll even consider them. Sutter had a career ERA of 2.83, Rollie Fingers...2.90. Right ahead of Smith's career ERA of 3.03 is Gossage and his 3.01, so you can see that Lee isn't necessarily that far off the mark.

Another fun fact (thanks Wikipedia) that makes Smith a fun conversation piece is this...he is one of a small percentage of players (the list of pitchers is even smaller) to have their first big league hit be a home run. Also on that list…Hall of Fame reliever Hoyt Wilhelm. Smith hit his off of Hall of Famer Phil Niekro…no clue who surrendered the Wilhelm dinger. Suffice it to say, they were the only two longballs the pair managed.

So, here we have Smith…a seven time All-Star, three times a top five finisher in the Cy Young Award voting. Will he make the Hall? He looks like a longshot when compared to the guys who dominate the highlights on a nightly basis, but I don’t think you can discredit him.

Even by looking at the votes he's gotten, he's on pace with what Sutter and Gossage did before him. Sutter was on the ballot 13 years before he got in and in his first year of eligibility...he only garnered 23% of the vote. Gossage wasn't much better. Nine years on the ballot, he ranged from the initial 33% to the eventual 85% he got last year. Smith has been on six years and hit the ballot strong with a 36% showing. This past year, he climbed to his highest total...45%. Remember, it only takes three-fourths of the writers to vote for you to get in and Sutter eeked by at 76%.

Compared to his contemporaries (which is what you MUST do when discussing the Hall of Fame), Smith stacks up statistically…he belongs in the conversation. Hell, he belongs right there at the beginning of the discussion, but the problem is, Smith has been the victim of so many modern day players…through free agency, he lost his identity.

It is MUCH easier for the casual fan to embrace a player who toes the same rubber from year to year a la Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera. But then again…if you are going to spend eight years with the Cubs and only be part of ONE winning ballclub, you can’t blame a guy.

I mean…who REALLY wants to be known as a lifelong “Loveable Loser”?

***Note: Based on the "Is Lee Smith a Hall of Famer" poll that was on the page...70% of you think he is.***