Al Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1934-1945)

W–L 99–101
ERA 3.72
WHIP 1.38
SO 587
Pitcher PIV -2643.0
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 180 lb
Born
10/12/1907 in Belleville, IL, USA
Died
4/28/1977 in Brownsville, TX, USA
MLB Debut
1934-05-05
Last Game
1945-09-15
Awards
All-Star

Full name: Alfred John Smith

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
99 101 356 202 75 16 17 1662.3 1,707 688 94 587 587 3.72 -2643.0

Career ERA 3.72 vs. league average 4.05 across their career seasons — 8.0% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1934 NY1 NL 3 5 30 5 0 0 5 66.7 70 32 21 27 4.32 4.29 (-1%) 922.9
1935 NY1 NL 10 8 40 10 4 1 5 124.0 125 47 32 44 3.41 4.35 (+22%) 935.6
1936 NY1 NL 14 13 43 30 9 4 2 209.3 217 88 69 89 3.78 4.59 (+18%) 216.8
1937 NY1 NL 5 4 33 9 2 0 0 85.7 91 40 30 41 4.20 4.34 (+3%) -517.3
1938 PHI NL 1 4 37 1 0 0 1 86.0 115 60 40 46 6.28 4.35 (-44%) -277.5
1939 PHI NL 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 9.0 11 4 5 2 4.00 4.28 (+7%) 0.0
1940 CLE AL 15 7 31 24 11 1 2 183.0 187 70 55 46 3.44 4.21 (+18%) -639.7
1941 CLE AL 12 13 29 27 13 2 0 206.7 204 88 75 76 3.83 3.94 (+3%) 47.9
1942 CLE AL 10 15 30 24 7 1 0 168.3 163 74 71 66 3.96 3.57 (-11%) -1152.4
1943 CLE AL 17 7 29 27 14 3 1 208.3 186 59 72 72 2.55 3.50 (+27%) 375.9
1944 CLE AL 7 13 28 26 7 1 0 181.7 197 69 69 44 3.42 3.57 (+4%) -1078.8
1945 CLE AL 5 12 21 19 8 3 1 133.7 141 57 48 34 3.84 3.67 (-5%) -1476.3
Career · 12 seasons 99 101 356 202 75 16 17 1,662.1 1,707 688 587 587 3.72 — -2,643

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
359 535 48 102 12 1 2 38 0 51 106 .191 .266 .228 .494 -1,633

Career AVG .191 vs. league average .269 across their career seasons — 29.1% below league average.

Career OBP .266 vs. league average .336 across their career seasons — 20.7% below league average.

Career SLG .228 vs. league average .379 across their career seasons — 39.8% below league average.

Career OPS .494 vs. league average .715 across their career seasons — 30.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1934 NY1 NL 30 14 0 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .286 — — — — 0.0
1935 NY1 NL 40 34 4 4 0 0 1 2 0 3 3 .118 — — — — 0.0
1936 NY1 NL 43 73 11 10 1 0 0 8 0 7 18 .137 .283 (-52%) .349 (-34%) .404 (-63%) .753 (-49%) -585.6
1937 NY1 NL 33 25 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 .120 — — — — 0.0
1938 PHI NL 37 21 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 4 .000 — — — — 0.0
1939 PHI NL 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1940 CLE AL 31 62 12 19 4 0 0 5 0 7 9 .306 .267 (+15%) .335 (+15%) .387 (-4%) .722 (+5%) 75.6
1941 CLE AL 30 71 8 11 1 0 1 3 0 11 20 .155 .262 (-41%) .332 (-19%) .373 (-43%) .705 (-32%) -337.7
1942 CLE AL 30 60 4 15 2 0 0 5 0 1 7 .250 .253 (-1%) .323 (-15%) .349 (-19%) .672 (-17%) -161.0
1943 CLE AL 30 68 3 14 1 1 0 5 0 9 14 .206 .255 (-20%) .324 (-8%) .346 (-28%) .671 (-18%) -171.5
1944 CLE AL 28 64 1 10 1 0 0 7 0 3 13 .156 .261 (-40%) .325 (-40%) .357 (-52%) .683 (-46%) -452.8
1945 CLE AL 22 41 2 12 2 0 0 2 0 6 6 .293 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 359 535 48 102 12 1 2 38 0 51 106 .191 — — — — -1,633

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1937 WS NY1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1936 WS NY1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 3 0 0 3.3 4 4 1 1 10.80

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1937 WS NY1 0 0 2 0 0 3.0 2 1 0 1 3.00
1936 WS NY1 0 0 1 0 0 0.3 2 3 1 0 81.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (715 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1822702054116.200
Away1772642848122.182

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home180885.18893373043113.43
Away176776.28283582842764.15

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1945-09-15 CLEPHAL 101000000
1945-09-10 CLENYYL 200000000
1945-09-06 CLEBOSL 000000010
1945-09-03 CLESLAL 201000000
1945-08-22 CLEMINL 000000000
1945-08-19 CLEMINL 201000010
1945-08-13 CLEBOSW 400000000
1945-08-08 CLENYYW 302100100
1945-08-03 CLESLAL 202000110
1945-07-21 CLEMINL 100000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1945-09-15 CLEPHA L 3.0955100
1945-09-10 CLENYY L 8.0755712
1945-09-03 CLESLA L 4.2963310
1945-08-22 CLEMIN — 2.0100010
1945-08-19 CLEMIN L 8.01075210
1945-08-13 CLEBOS W 9.0300230
1945-08-08 CLENYY W 9.0500140
1945-08-03 CLESLA L 5.1544111
1945-07-21 CLEMIN L 4.1776700
1945-07-12 CLENYY SV 3.0100210

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 356 0 55 367 17 26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1934 NY1 P 30 0 1 14 1 2
1935 NY1 P 40 0 5 24 2 2
1936 NY1 P 43 0 4 44 5 4
1937 NY1 P 33 0 3 15 0 1
1938 PHI P 37 0 5 16 1 1
1939 PHI P 5 0 1 2 0 0
1940 CLE P 31 0 6 44 0 5
1941 CLE P 29 0 9 46 3 5
1942 CLE P 30 0 5 34 1 0
1943 CLE P 29 0 6 45 2 1
1944 CLE P 28 0 4 46 1 2
1945 CLE P 21 0 6 37 1 3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 356

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1943 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1943 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 19.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Al Smith (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Dave Koslo
    92-107, 3.68 ERA
  2. 89
    Hugh McQuillan
    88-94, 3.83 ERA
  3. 87
    Nels Potter
    92-97, 3.99 ERA
  4. 86
    Johnny Morrison
    103-80, 3.65 ERA
  5. 85
    Bob Porterfield
    87-97, 3.79 ERA
  6. 83
    Max Butcher
    95-106, 3.73 ERA

Frequently Asked Questions about Al Smith

What years did Al Smith play?
Al Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1945.
Was Al Smith a pitcher?
Yes. Al Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 99 wins and 587 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Al Smith hit?
Al Smith hit 2 career home runs with 102 hits.