Al Smith

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

Al Smith was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1934 to 1945 for the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 12 seasons. Across 356 career appearances, he went 99-101 with a 3.72 ERA and 587 strikeouts. He also batted .191 with 2 home runs. Al Smith was an All-Star.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

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

Al Smith — 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 1662.1 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.

Al Smith (b. 1907) Stats, Bio & Career Records
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 66.2 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 2 209.1 217 88 69 89 3.78 4.59 (+18%) 216.8
1937 NY1 NL 5 4 33 9 2 0 0 85.2 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 0 206.2 204 88 75 76 3.83 3.94 (+3%) 47.9
1942 CLE AL 10 15 30 24 7 1 0 168.1 163 74 71 66 3.96 3.57 (-11%) -1152.4
1943 CLE AL 17 7 29 27 14 3 1 208.1 186 59 72 72 2.55 3.50 (+27%) 375.9
1944 CLE AL 7 13 28 26 7 1 0 181.2 197 69 69 44 3.42 3.57 (+4%) -1078.8
1945 CLE AL 5 12 21 19 8 3 1 133.2 141 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

Al Smith — 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.

Al Smith (b. 1907) Stats, Bio & Career Records
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

Al Smith — 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

Al Smith — 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

Al Smith — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 0 3 0 0 3.1 4 4 1 1 10.80

Playoff Pitching by Year

Al Smith — 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 0.1 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

Al Smith — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home1822702054116.200
Away1772642848122.182

Pitching — Home / Away

Al Smith — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home180885.18893373043113.43
Away176776.28283582842764.15

Last 10 Games — Batting

Al Smith — 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

Al Smith — 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

Al Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 356 0 55 367 17 26

Season-by-Season Fielding

Al Smith — 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.

Al Smith (b. 1907) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 356

Awards & Honors

Al Smith — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1943 Baseball Magazine All-Star P3

Award Voting History

Al Smith — 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

Al Smith: the record in brief

May 5, 1934 and September 15, 1945 bracket Al Smith's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Smith played for the New York Giants (1934 to 1937), the Philadelphia Phillies (1938 to 1939), and the Cleveland Indians (1940 to 1945). Born on October 12, 1907, in Belleville, IL, USA, Smith is listed as a pitcher and batted and threw left-handed. Smith's listed size is 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. Smith's death is recorded on April 28, 1977, in Brownsville, TX, USA. The given name on file is Alfred John Smith.

Smith pitched in 356 games, starting 202, and finished with a 99-101 record and 3.72 ERA. The same table counts 587 strikeouts, 75 complete games, 16 shutouts, and 17 saves. Against a 4.05 league ERA for the same years, Smith was 8.0% better. 1943 brought Smith a season-high 17 wins. 1936 produced Smith's most strikeouts, 89. 1943 was Smith's sharpest full season, a 2.55 ERA against the league's 3.50.

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.
What was Al Smith's career batting average?
Al Smith batted .191 over his career, with 102 hits in 535 at bats.
How many RBI did Al Smith have?
Al Smith drove in 38 runs in his career.
What was Al Smith's career ERA?
Al Smith finished with a 3.72 career ERA, going 99-101 with 587 strikeouts.