Cleo Smith
Second Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Cleo Smith was a second baseman who played in Major League Baseball for 6 teams, including the Baltimore Black Sox. In 115 career games, he hit .273 with 114 hits, 4 home runs, and 56 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Second Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- L / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 180 lb
- Died
- 6/30/1978 in Washington, DC, USA
Full name: Cleveland Smith
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 115 | 417 | 70 | 114 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 56 | 19 | 37 | 2 | .273 | .334 | .379 | .713 | -176 |
Career AVG .273 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .334 vs. league average .345 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .379 vs. league average .392 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .713 vs. league average .737 across their career seasons — near league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | BBS | IND | 8 | 27 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .185 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1923 | BBS | ECL | 36 | 145 | 29 | 42 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 0 | .290 | .282 (+2%) | .344 (-6%) | .390 (+8%) | .734 (+1%) | -30.3 |
| 1924 | HBG | ECL | 14 | 55 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | .200 | .283 (-30%) | .345 (-26%) | .389 (-35%) | .734 (-31%) | -279.6 |
| 1924 | NLG | ECL | 31 | 101 | 19 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .307 | .283 (+8%) | .345 (+7%) | .389 (+7%) | .734 (+7%) | -279.6 |
| 1926 | NS | ECL | 9 | 30 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .233 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1926 | BBS | ECL | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1927 | BRG | ECL | 6 | 18 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .278 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1928 | PTG | ECL | 8 | 33 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1928 | BBS | ECL | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 115 | 417 | 70 | 114 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 56 | 19 | 37 | 2 | .273 | — | — | — | — | -589 | ||
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.
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 3 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2B | 44 | 42 | 68 | 126 | 21 | 10 |
| 3B | 38 | 35 | 56 | 65 | 9 | 5 |
| C | 4 | 3 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| OF | 17 | 15 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 10 | 8 | 12 | 29 | 6 | 2 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | BBS | 1B | 3 | 3 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 1922 | BBS | 2B | 5 | 5 | 6 | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 1923 | BBS | 2B | 23 | 23 | 41 | 65 | 12 | 1 |
| 1923 | BBS | 3B | 7 | 6 | 12 | 13 | 1 | 0 |
| 1923 | BBS | C | 3 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1923 | BBS | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1923 | BBS | SS | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 1924 | HBG | 3B | 9 | 8 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 0 |
| 1924 | HBG | SS | 5 | 5 | 6 | 24 | 3 | 2 |
| 1924 | NLG | 2B | 11 | 10 | 18 | 23 | 7 | 3 |
| 1924 | NLG | 3B | 8 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 2 | 3 |
| 1924 | NLG | C | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | NLG | OF | 9 | 8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1924 | NLG | SS | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1926 | NS | 2B | 4 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 2 | 4 |
| 1926 | NS | OF | 5 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | BBS | OF | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1927 | BRG | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1927 | BRG | 3B | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 1928 | PTG | 3B | 8 | 8 | 9 | 13 | 2 | 2 |
| 1928 | BBS | 3B | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 4 |
| First Base | 3 |
| Second Base | 44 |
| Third Base | 38 |
| Shortstop | 10 |
| Left Field | 4 |
| Center Field | 2 |
| Right Field | 11 |
Cleo Smith: the record in brief
Cleo Smith's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1922 to 1928. The season rows list, in order, the Baltimore Black Sox (1922 to 1928), the Harrisburg Giants (1924), the New York Lincoln Giants (1924), the Newark Stars (1926), the Brooklyn Royal Giants (1927), and the Philadelphia Tigers (1928). Born on August 10, 1899, in Gloucester County, VA, USA, Smith is listed as a second baseman and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. Smith's listed size is 180 pounds on a 5-foot-11 frame. The bio records the death on June 30, 1978, in Washington, DC, USA. Smith's full given name, per the bio, is Cleveland Smith.
Smith collected 114 hits in 417 at bats across 115 games, good for a .273 batting average, along with 4 home runs and 56 RBI. Reaching base at a .334 clip and slugging .379, Smith finished with a .713 OPS. Smith hit .273 while the league hit .282 over the same span, a figure close to average. 1923 produced Smith's most hits, 42 of them for the Baltimore Black Sox.
Frequently Asked Questions about Cleo Smith
- Was Cleo Smith a pitcher?
- No. Cleo Smith was a position player (Second Baseman).
- How many home runs did Cleo Smith hit?
- Cleo Smith hit 4 career home runs with 114 hits.
- What was Cleo Smith's career batting average?
- Cleo Smith batted .273 over his career, with 114 hits in 417 at bats.
- How many RBI did Cleo Smith have?
- Cleo Smith drove in 56 runs in his career.
- Is Cleo Smith in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Cleo Smith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Cleo Smith play for?
- Cleo Smith played for the Baltimore Black Sox, the Harrisburg Giants, the New York Lincoln Giants, the Newark Stars, the Brooklyn Royal Giants, and the Philadelphia Tigers.