What years did Frank Smith play?

Frank Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1904 to 1915.

Was Frank Smith a pitcher?

Yes. Frank Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 139 wins and 1051 strikeouts.

How many home runs did Frank Smith hit?

Frank Smith hit 2 career home runs with 156 hits.

What was Frank Smith's career batting average?

Frank Smith batted .204 over his career, with 156 hits in 766 at bats.

How many RBI did Frank Smith have?

Frank Smith drove in 85 runs in his career.

What was Frank Smith's career ERA?

Frank Smith finished with a 2.59 career ERA, going 139-111 with 1,051 strikeouts.

Frank Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1904-1915)

Frank Smith was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1904 to 1915 for 5 teams, including the Chicago White Sox, a span of 12 seasons. Across 354 career appearances, he went 139-111 with a 2.59 ERA and 1,051 strikeouts. He also batted .204 with 2 home runs. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 11012.0.

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 September 8, 2026

W–L 139–111

ERA 2.59

WHIP 1.17

SO 1,051

Pitcher PIV 11012.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 5'10" / 194 lb
Born: 10/28/1879 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died: 11/3/1952 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1904-04-22
Last Game: 1915-09-13

Full name: Frank Elmer Smith

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Career Pitching Statistics

Frank Smith — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
139	111	354	255	184	27	6	2274.0	1,975	655	27	676	1,051	2.59	11012.0

Career ERA 2.59 vs. league average 2.82 across their career seasons — 8.2% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Smith (b. 1879) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1904	CHA	AL	16	9	26	23	22	4	0	203.3	157	47	58	107	2.08	2.66 (+22%)	1388.4
1905	CHA	AL	19	13	39	31	27	4	0	291.7	215	69	107	171	2.13	2.82 (+25%)	2215.6
1906	CHA	AL	5	5	20	13	8	1	1	122.0	124	46	37	53	3.39	2.68 (-27%)	-560.5
1907	CHA	AL	23	10	41	37	29	3	0	310.0	280	85	111	139	2.47	2.50 (+1%)	-19.5
1908	CHA	AL	16	17	41	35	24	3	1	297.7	213	67	73	129	2.03	2.40 (+16%)	2333.7
1909	CHA	AL	25	17	51	40	37	7	1	365.0	278	73	70	177	1.80	2.55 (+29%)	6097.1
1910	CHA	AL	4	9	19	15	9	3	0	128.7	91	29	40	50	2.03	2.79 (+27%)	442.4
1910	BOS	AL	1	2	4	3	2	0	0	28.0	22	15	11	8	4.82	2.79 (-73%)	-194.4
1911	BOS	AL	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2.3	6	4	3	1	15.43	—	0.0
1911	CIN	NL	10	14	34	18	10	0	1	176.3	198	78	55	67	3.98	3.37 (-18%)	1248.6
1912	CIN	NL	1	1	7	3	1	0	0	22.7	34	16	15	5	6.35	3.36 (-89%)	-919.9
1914	BLF	FL	10	8	39	22	9	1	2	174.7	180	58	47	83	2.99	2.93 (-2%)	63.3
1915	BLF	FL	4	4	17	9	2	0	0	88.7	108	46	31	37	4.67	2.90 (-61%)	-1037.7
1915	BRF	FL	5	2	15	5	4	1	0	63.0	69	22	18	24	3.14	2.90 (-9%)	-45.2
Career · 14 seasons			139	111	354	255	184	27	6	2,274.0	1,975	655	676	1,051	2.59	—	11,012

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

Frank Smith — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
369	766	81	156	41	9	2	85	3	64	217	.204	.276	.289	.565	-1,032

Career AVG .204 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 19.0% below league average.

Career OBP .276 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 12.2% below league average.

Career SLG .289 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 12.1% below league average.

Career OPS .565 vs. league average .643 across their career seasons — 12.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Frank Smith (b. 1879) 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
1904	CHA	AL	26	72	8	18	5	0	0	6	0	4	21	.250	.246 (+1%)	.300 (-1%)	.321 (-1%)	.622 (-1%)	-7.5
1905	CHA	AL	41	106	11	24	6	0	1	11	0	7	30	.226	.248 (-9%)	.307 (-3%)	.322 (-4%)	.629 (-3%)	-30.7
1906	CHA	AL	20	41	6	12	2	2	0	6	0	3	6	.293	—	—	—	—	0.0
1907	CHA	AL	42	92	11	18	3	0	0	11	2	16	28	.196	.245 (-20%)	.304 (+8%)	.308 (-26%)	.613 (-9%)	-38.4
1908	CHA	AL	43	106	15	20	7	0	0	10	1	5	36	.189	.240 (-22%)	.298 (-22%)	.306 (-17%)	.605 (-20%)	-298.9
1909	CHA	AL	53	127	11	22	6	3	0	20	0	10	31	.173	.244 (-29%)	.306 (-20%)	.312 (-14%)	.618 (-17%)	-328.4
1910	CHA	AL	24	43	4	8	3	0	0	5	0	5	16	.186	—	—	—	—	0.0
1910	BOS	AL	4	9	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	.111	—	—	—	—	0.0
1911	BOS	AL	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1911	CIN	NL	35	56	3	12	2	2	0	6	0	4	14	.214	.266 (-20%)	.336 (-21%)	.356 (-10%)	.693 (-15%)	0.0
1912	CIN	NL	7	6	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1914	BLF	FL	41	59	4	12	4	1	0	3	0	3	21	.203	.255 (-20%)	.322 (-25%)	.339 (-10%)	.661 (-17%)	-175.0
1915	BLF	FL	17	29	2	5	2	1	1	4	0	0	7	.172	—	—	—	—	0.0
1915	BRF	FL	15	20	3	4	1	0	0	3	0	3	5	.200	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 14 seasons			369	766	81	156	41	9	2	85	3	64	217	.204	—	—	—	—	-879

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 (727 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Frank Smith — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	186	374	39	64	2	43	.171
Away	187	394	42	92	0	32	.234

Pitching — Home / Away

Frank Smith — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	176	1160.1	921	151	330	550	1.17
Away	178	1107.0	1089	236	360	515	1.92

Last 10 Games — Batting

Frank Smith — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB	SO
1915-09-13	BRF	PTF	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1915-09-04	BRF	BLF	W	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
1915-09-03	BRF	BLF	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1915-08-26	BRF	BLF	W	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
1915-08-24	BRF	BLF	W	3	3	2	1	2	1	1
1915-08-10	BRF	KCF	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1915-08-04	BRF	PTF	L	2	0	0	0	0	1	0
1915-07-28	BRF	KCF	W	2	0	0	0	0	1	0
1915-07-27	BRF	KCF	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
1915-07-22	BRF	SLF	W	3	0	0	0	0	0	2

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Frank Smith — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1915-09-13	BRF	PTF	—	0.1	1	0	0	0	0	0
1915-09-04	BRF	BLF	W	9.0	10	1	1	1	2	1
1915-09-03	BRF	BLF	—	0.0	0	0	0	1	0	0
1915-08-26	BRF	BLF	W	3.0	5	1	1	1	0	0
1915-08-24	BRF	BLF	W	5.2	6	2	1	3	3	0
1915-08-10	BRF	KCF	—	2.0	0	0	0	1	1	0
1915-08-04	BRF	PTF	L	8.0	11	6	5	3	3	0
1915-07-28	BRF	KCF	W	7.1	6	3	1	4	3	0
1915-07-27	BRF	KCF	—	1.0	0	0	0	0	1	0
1915-07-22	BRF	SLF	W	9.0	4	0	0	1	6	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Frank Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
OF	1	0	1	0	0	0
P	354	197	167	782	37	22

Season-by-Season Fielding

Frank Smith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1904	CHA	P	26	23	15	53	7	2
1905	CHA	P	39	31	27	77	3	3
1906	CHA	P	20	13	6	42	2	1
1907	CHA	P	41	37	20	109	5	2
1908	CHA	P	41	35	23	101	2	4
1909	CHA	P	51	40	26	154	4	3
1910	CHA	P	19	15	13	59	4	0
1910	BOS	P	4	3	1	9	0	0
1911	BOS	P	1	0	0	2	0	0
1911	CIN	P	34	0	16	66	6	4
1912	CIN	P	7	0	3	3	1	1
1914	BLF	OF	1	0	1	0	0	0
1914	BLF	P	39	0	10	57	2	2
1915	BLF	P	17	0	2	29	1	0
1915	BRF	P	15	0	5	21	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Frank Smith (b. 1879) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
Pitcher	354
Left Field	1

College History

Frank Smith — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Grove City College	Grove City	PA	1901

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

Frequently Asked Questions about Frank Smith

What years did Frank Smith play?: Frank Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1904 to 1915.
Was Frank Smith a pitcher?: Yes. Frank Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 139 wins and 1051 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Frank Smith hit?: Frank Smith hit 2 career home runs with 156 hits.
What was Frank Smith's career batting average?: Frank Smith batted .204 over his career, with 156 hits in 766 at bats.
How many RBI did Frank Smith have?: Frank Smith drove in 85 runs in his career.
What was Frank Smith's career ERA?: Frank Smith finished with a 2.59 career ERA, going 139-111 with 1,051 strikeouts.