Earl Smith

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1919-1930)

Earl Smith was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1930 for 4 teams, including the New York Giants, a span of 12 seasons. In 860 career games, he hit .303 with 686 hits, 46 home runs, and 355 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 4,640.

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

AVG .303
HR 46
RBI 355
H 686
OPS .806
PIV 4,640
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'10" / 180 lb
Born
2/14/1897 in Sheridan, AR, USA
Died
6/8/1963 in Little Rock, AR, USA
MLB Debut
1919-04-24
Last Game
1930-09-28

Full name: Earl Sutton Smith

📊 Compare This Player 📈 View Career Timeline

Career Batting Statistics

Earl Smith — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
860 2,264 225 686 115 19 46 355 18 247 106 .303 .374 .432 .806 4,640

Career AVG .303 vs. league average .283 across their career seasons — +7.1% above league average.

Career OBP .374 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +8.7% above league average.

Career SLG .432 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Career OPS .806 vs. league average .739 across their career seasons — +9.1% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Earl Smith (b. 1897) 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
1919 NY1 NL 21 36 5 9 2 1 0 8 1 3 3 .250 — — — — 0.0
1920 NY1 NL 91 262 20 77 7 1 1 30 5 18 16 .294 .271 (+8%) .331 (+4%) .363 (-6%) .694 (-2%) -26.4
1921 NY1 NL 89 229 35 77 8 4 10 51 4 27 8 .336 .286 (+17%) .344 (+19%) .395 (+36%) .739 (+28%) 1251.2
1922 NY1 NL 90 234 29 65 11 4 9 39 1 37 12 .278 .285 (-3%) .345 (+11%) .397 (+19%) .743 (+15%) 763.0
1923 NY1 NL 24 34 2 7 1 1 1 4 0 4 1 .206 — — — — 0.0
1923 BSN NL 72 191 22 55 15 1 3 19 0 22 10 .288 .282 (+2%) .344 (+6%) .390 (+9%) .734 (+7%) 0.0
1924 BSN NL 33 59 1 16 3 0 0 8 0 6 3 .271 .283 (-4%) .345 (-2%) .389 (-17%) .734 (-10%) -85.5
1924 PIT NL 39 111 12 41 10 1 4 21 2 13 4 .369 .283 (+30%) .345 (+26%) .389 (+50%) .734 (+39%) -85.5
1925 PIT NL 109 329 34 103 22 3 8 64 4 31 13 .313 .288 (+9%) .349 (+7%) .407 (+16%) .756 (+12%) 764.5
1926 PIT NL 105 292 29 101 17 2 2 46 1 28 7 .346 .279 (+24%) .345 (+18%) .390 (+12%) .735 (+15%) 917.5
1927 PIT NL 66 189 16 51 3 1 5 25 0 21 11 .270 .282 (-4%) .344 (avg) .392 (-4%) .736 (-2%) -24.5
1928 PIT NL 32 85 8 21 6 0 2 11 0 11 7 .247 .280 (-12%) .342 (-3%) .395 (-2%) .737 (-2%) -23.2
1928 SLN NL 24 58 3 13 2 0 0 7 0 5 4 .224 .280 (-20%) .342 (-17%) .395 (-35%) .737 (-26%) -23.2
1929 SLN NL 57 145 9 50 8 0 1 22 0 18 6 .345 .289 (+19%) .353 (+18%) .415 (+1%) .769 (+9%) 312.5
1930 SLN NL 8 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 15 seasons 860 2,264 225 686 115 19 46 355 18 247 106 .303 — — — — 3,740

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

Earl Smith — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
17 46 0 11 1 0 0 0 2 4 .239

Playoff Batting by Year

Earl Smith — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1928 WS SLN 1 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .750
1927 WS PIT 3 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1925 WS PIT 6 20 0 7 1 0 0 0 1 2 .350
1922 WS NY1 4 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .143
1921 WS NY1 3 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (863 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Earl Smith — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home442110810733525183.302
Away421116111635221175.303

Last 10 Games — Batting

Earl Smith — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1930-09-28 STLPITW 300000000
1930-09-17 STLBROW 000000000
1930-05-04 STLBROL 100000000
1930-05-03 STLBROL 000000010
1930-04-27 STLCINW 200000000
1930-04-26 STLPITL 000000010
1930-04-21 STLPITL 300000000
1930-04-17 STLCHCL 100000011
1929-10-06 STLCINW 402100000
1929-09-28 STLPITL 400000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Earl Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
C 720 0 2117 502 78 64

Season-by-Season Fielding

Earl Smith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1919 NY1 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1919 NY1 C 14 0 26 10 1 0
1920 NY1 C 82 0 252 73 8 12
1921 NY1 C 78 0 195 56 9 4
1922 NY1 C 75 0 214 56 6 3
1923 NY1 C 12 0 32 7 1 2
1923 BSN C 54 0 141 51 5 7
1924 BSN C 13 0 40 13 3 1
1924 PIT C 35 0 127 23 4 3
1925 PIT C 96 0 317 77 13 15
1926 PIT C 98 0 307 63 14 10
1927 PIT C 61 0 187 32 3 2
1928 PIT C 28 0 78 11 3 2
1928 SLN C 18 0 52 6 0 2
1929 SLN C 50 0 131 21 6 1
1930 SLN C 6 0 18 3 2 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Earl Smith (b. 1897) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 720

Awards & Honors

Earl Smith — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star C
1925 Baseball Magazine All-Star C2

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Mitchell Murray
    .301 avg, 30 HR
  2. 96
    Butch Henline
    .291 avg, 40 HR
  3. 92
    Babe Phelps
    .310 avg, 54 HR
  4. 81
    Bubbles Hargrave
    .310 avg, 29 HR
  5. 76
    Shanty Hogan
    .295 avg, 61 HR
  6. 75
    Clarence Palm
    .291 avg, 52 HR

Earl Smith: the record in brief

Earl Smith's major league career runs from a debut on April 24, 1919 to a final game on September 28, 1930. The season rows list, in order, the New York Giants (1919 through 1923), the Boston Braves (1923 through 1924), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1924 through 1928), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1928 to 1930). Smith, a catcher by primary position, threw right-handed and batted left-handed. The recorded size is 5'10" and 180 pounds. The birth record reads February 14, 1897, in Sheridan, AR, USA. Smith died on June 8, 1963, in Little Rock, AR, USA. Earl Smith was the playing name; the full given name is Earl Sutton.

Smith's career batting table shows 860 games, 2,264 at bats and 686 hits, a .303 average; the totals also include 46 home runs and 355 runs batted in. On-base and slugging figures of .374 and .432 give Smith a career OPS of .806. Smith's .303 average ran 7.1% above the .283 that the league posted over the same seasons.

Frequently Asked Questions about Earl Smith

What years did Earl Smith play?
Earl Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1919 to 1930.
Was Earl Smith a pitcher?
No. Earl Smith was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Earl Smith hit?
Earl Smith hit 46 career home runs with 686 hits.
What teams did Earl Smith play for?
Earl Smith played for 4 teams: the New York Giants (1919–1923), the Boston Braves (1923–1924), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1924–1928), and the St. Louis Cardinals (1928–1930).
What were Earl Smith's career stats?
In 860 games, Earl Smith had 686 hits, 46 home runs, 355 RBI, 225 runs, and 18 stolen bases, with a .303 batting average.
What position did Earl Smith play?
Earl Smith played primarily as a catcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Earl Smith and how much did he weigh?
Earl Smith was listed at 5 feet 10 inches and 180 pounds.
How many home runs did Earl Smith hit each season?
Earl Smith's home runs by season: 0 in 1919, 1 in 1920, 10 in 1921, 9 in 1922, 4 in 1923, 4 in 1924, 8 in 1925, 2 in 1926, 5 in 1927, 2 in 1928, 1 in 1929, and 0 in 1930. His most in one season was 10, in 1921.
What was Earl Smith's career batting average?
Earl Smith batted .303 over his career, with 686 hits in 2,264 at bats.
How many RBI did Earl Smith have?
Earl Smith drove in 355 runs in his career.
Is Earl Smith in the Hall of Fame?
No. Earl Smith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.