Elmer Smith

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1886-1901)

Elmer Smith was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1886 to 1901 for 5 teams, including the Cincinnati Red Stockings, a span of 16 seasons. In 1,237 career games, he hit .310 with 1,456 hits, 37 home runs, and 665 RBI. He also pitched in 149 games, going 75-57 with a 3.35 ERA. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 15,656.

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 .310
HR 37
RBI 665
H 1,456
OPS .831
PIV 15,656
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'11" / 178 lb
Born
3/23/1868 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died
11/3/1945 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1886-09-10
Last Game
1901-06-15

Full name: Elmer Ellsworth Smith

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Career Batting Statistics

Elmer Smith — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,237 4,693 913 1,456 197 136 37 665 233 639 258 .310 .398 .434 .831 15,656

Career AVG .310 vs. league average .272 across their career seasons — +14.0% above league average.

Career OBP .398 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — +18.5% above league average.

Career SLG .434 vs. league average .365 across their career seasons — +18.9% above league average.

Career OPS .831 vs. league average .700 across their career seasons — +18.7% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Elmer Smith (b. 1868) 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
1886 CN2 AA 9 28 6 8 1 1 0 2 0 9 0 .286 — — — — 0.0
1887 CN2 AA 52 186 26 47 10 6 0 23 5 11 16 .253 .270 (-7%) .331 (-10%) .373 (-1%) .705 (-5%) -205.6
1888 CN2 AA 40 129 15 29 4 1 0 9 2 20 22 .225 .238 (-6%) .290 (+13%) .319 (-15%) .610 (-2%) 60.5
1889 CN2 AA 29 83 12 23 3 1 2 17 1 7 18 .277 .263 (+5%) .334 (+4%) .357 (+15%) .691 (+10%) 128.3
1892 PIT NL 138 511 86 140 16 14 4 63 22 82 43 .274 .244 (+12%) .316 (+18%) .327 (+17%) .644 (+18%) 1908.9
1893 PIT NL 128 518 121 179 26 23 7 103 26 77 23 .346 .279 (+24%) .356 (+22%) .379 (+38%) .735 (+30%) 3317.9
1894 PIT NL 126 490 128 175 33 19 6 74 34 68 12 .357 .309 (+15%) .379 (+16%) .435 (+24%) .814 (+20%) 2297.9
1895 PIT NL 125 484 89 146 15 12 1 81 34 55 25 .302 .296 (+2%) .361 (+5%) .399 (-3%) .761 (+1%) 190.9
1896 PIT NL 122 484 121 175 21 14 6 94 33 74 18 .362 .290 (+24%) .354 (+28%) .387 (+29%) .741 (+29%) 3160.0
1897 PIT NL 123 467 99 145 19 17 6 54 25 70 32 .310 .291 (+6%) .354 (+15%) .387 (+19%) .741 (+17%) 1819.9
1898 CIN NL 123 486 79 166 21 10 1 66 20 69 17 .342 .270 (+26%) .333 (+27%) .347 (+25%) .680 (+26%) 2655.8
1899 CIN NL 88 343 65 101 13 6 1 24 10 47 12 .294 .282 (+4%) .343 (+11%) .366 (+3%) .710 (+7%) 541.1
1900 CIN NL 29 111 14 31 4 4 1 18 5 18 2 .279 .279 (avg) .338 (+15%) .366 (+13%) .705 (+14%) 301.1
1900 NY1 NL 85 312 47 81 9 7 2 34 14 24 10 .260 .279 (-7%) .338 (-7%) .366 (-4%) .705 (-5%) 301.1
1901 PIT NL 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1901 BSN NL 16 57 5 10 2 1 0 3 2 6 8 .175 .271 (-35%) .326 (-22%) .359 (-32%) .686 (-27%) 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 1,237 4,693 913 1,456 197 136 37 665 233 639 258 .310 — — — — 16,478

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 Pitching Statistics

Elmer Smith — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
75 57 149 136 122 9 0 1210.1 1,167 450 20 422 525 3.35 7647.2

Career ERA 3.35 vs. league average 3.76 across their career seasons — 10.9% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Elmer Smith — Season-by-Season Pitching
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1886 CN2 AA 4 4 9 9 8 0 0 72.2 57 30 44 40 3.72 3.37 (-10%) -1361.5
1887 CN2 AA 34 17 52 52 49 3 0 447.1 400 146 126 176 2.94 4.17 (+30%) 7819.6
1888 CN2 AA 22 17 40 40 37 5 0 348.1 309 106 89 154 2.74 2.95 (+7%) 2628.9
1889 CN2 AA 9 12 29 22 16 0 0 203.0 253 110 101 104 4.88 3.93 (-24%) -1770.7
1892 PIT NL 6 7 17 13 12 1 0 134.0 140 54 58 51 3.63 3.28 (-10%) 330.9
1894 PIT NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 4.0 6 2 1 0 4.50 — 0.0
1898 CIN NL 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 2 2 3 0 18.00 — 0.0
Career · 7 seasons 75 57 149 136 122 9 0 1,210.1 1,167 450 422 525 3.35 — 7,647

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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (346 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Elmer Smith — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home190708120221398.312
Away15560190168247.280

Pitching — Home / Away

Elmer Smith — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home11.0223018.00

Last 10 Games — Batting

Elmer Smith — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1901-06-15 BSNPITL 100000000
1901-06-12 BSNCINL 611000002
1901-06-11 BSNCINW 401000001
1901-06-10 BSNCINW 411010110
1901-06-07 BSNSTLL 400000000
1901-06-06 BSNSTLL 210000020
1901-06-04 BSNCHCL 200000021
1901-06-03 BSNCHCW 401100000
1901-06-01 BSNNY1L 401100001
1901-05-30 BSNCHCW 401000100

Last 1 Games — Pitching

Elmer Smith — Last 1 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1898-06-29 CINPHI — 1.0222300

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Elmer Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1089 0 2211 143 200 35
P 149 0 22 172 38 2

Season-by-Season Fielding

Elmer Smith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1886 CN2 OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1886 CN2 P 9 0 0 3 2 0
1887 CN2 OF 2 0 2 0 0 0
1887 CN2 P 52 0 7 67 13 2
1888 CN2 OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
1888 CN2 P 40 0 4 58 12 0
1889 CN2 P 29 0 2 21 5 0
1892 PIT OF 124 0 223 15 31 0
1892 PIT P 17 0 9 23 6 0
1893 PIT OF 128 0 271 20 25 7
1894 PIT OF 126 0 276 18 21 8
1894 PIT P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1895 PIT OF 124 0 255 16 31 2
1896 PIT OF 122 0 302 14 18 6
1897 PIT OF 123 0 245 19 28 1
1898 CIN OF 123 0 280 15 16 5
1898 CIN P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1899 CIN OF 88 0 181 12 16 3
1900 CIN OF 27 0 63 3 5 1
1900 NY1 OF 83 0 91 10 5 2
1901 PIT OF 1 0 2 0 0 0
1901 BSN OF 15 0 19 1 4 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Elmer Smith (b. 1868) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 149
Left Field 927
Center Field 39
Right Field 123

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Ross Youngs HOF
    .322 avg, 42 HR
  2. 94
    Elmer Flick HOF
    .313 avg, 48 HR
  3. 90
    George Gore
    .301 avg, 46 HR
  4. 90
    Curt Walker
    .304 avg, 64 HR
  5. 88
    Thomas Burns
    .300 avg, 65 HR
  6. 87
    Tip O'Neill
    .326 avg, 52 HR

Elmer Smith: the record in brief

September 10, 1886 and June 15, 1901 bracket Elmer Smith's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Smith played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings (1886 through 1889), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1892 to 1901), the Cincinnati Reds (1898 to 1900), the New York Giants (1900), and the Boston Beaneaters (1901). At 5-foot-11 and 178 pounds, Smith is listed as an outfielder. Smith both batted and threw left-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is March 23, 1868, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. The bio records the death on November 3, 1945, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Elmer Smith was the playing name; the full given name is Elmer Ellsworth.

Across 1,237 games at the plate, Smith's career line reads 1,456 hits in 4,693 at bats for a .310 average; the totals also include 37 home runs, 665 runs batted in, and 233 stolen bases. On-base and slugging figures of .398 and .434 give Smith a career OPS of .831.

Frequently Asked Questions about Elmer Smith

What years did Elmer Smith play?
Elmer Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1886 to 1901.
Was Elmer Smith a pitcher?
Both. Elmer Smith pitched in 149 games, going 75-57 with a 3.35 ERA, but spent most of his career as an Outfielder.
How many home runs did Elmer Smith hit?
Elmer Smith hit 37 career home runs with 1,456 hits.
What teams did Elmer Smith play for?
Elmer Smith played for 4 teams: the Cincinnati Reds (1886–1889, 1898–1900), the Pittsburgh Pirates (1892–1897, 1901), the New York Giants (1900), and the Boston Beaneaters (1901).
What were Elmer Smith's career stats?
In 1,237 games, Elmer Smith had 1,456 hits, 37 home runs, 665 RBI, 913 runs, and 233 stolen bases, with a .310 batting average. As a pitcher, in 149 games, he went 75-57 with a 3.35 ERA, 525 strikeouts, and 1,210.1 innings pitched.
What position did Elmer Smith play?
Elmer Smith played primarily as an outfielder, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Elmer Smith and how much did he weigh?
Elmer Smith was listed at 5 feet 11 inches and 178 pounds.
How many home runs did Elmer Smith hit each season?
Elmer Smith's home runs by season: 0 in 1886, 0 in 1887, 0 in 1888, 2 in 1889, 4 in 1892, 7 in 1893, 6 in 1894, 1 in 1895, 6 in 1896, 6 in 1897, 1 in 1898, 1 in 1899, 3 in 1900, and 0 in 1901. His most in one season was 7, in 1893.
What was Elmer Smith's career batting average?
Elmer Smith batted .310 over his career, with 1,456 hits in 4,693 at bats.
How many RBI did Elmer Smith have?
Elmer Smith drove in 665 runs in his career.
What was Elmer Smith's career ERA?
Elmer Smith finished with a 3.35 career ERA, going 75-57 with 525 strikeouts.
Is Elmer Smith in the Hall of Fame?
No. Elmer Smith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.