Germany Smith

Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1884-1898)

Germany Smith was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1898 for 6 teams, including the Altoona Mountain City, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,712 career games, he hit .243 with 1,597 hits, 47 home runs, and 800 RBI.

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 .243
HR 47
RBI 800
H 1,597
OPS .622
PIV -11,454
Position
Shortstop
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 175 lb
Born
4/20/1859 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Died
12/1/1927 in Altoona, PA, USA
MLB Debut
1884-04-17
Last Game
1898-10-09

Full name: George J. Smith

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Career Batting Statistics

Germany Smith — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,712 6,562 907 1,597 252 95 47 800 235 408 390 .243 .289 .332 .622 -11,454

Career AVG .243 vs. league average .264 across their career seasons — 7.9% below league average.

Career OBP .289 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 11.6% below league average.

Career SLG .332 vs. league average .356 across their career seasons — 6.6% below league average.

Career OPS .622 vs. league average .683 across their career seasons — 9.0% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Germany Smith 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
1884 ALT UA 25 108 9 34 8 1 0 0 0 1 0 .315 .243 (+29%) .278 (+15%) .327 (+25%) .606 (+20%) 275.0
1884 CL2 NL 72 291 31 74 14 4 4 26 0 2 45 .254 .243 (+5%) .278 (-7%) .327 (+13%) .606 (+4%) 275.0
1885 BR3 AA 108 419 63 108 17 11 4 62 0 10 0 .258 .244 (+6%) .287 (-4%) .325 (+17%) .613 (+7%) 278.3
1886 BR3 AA 105 426 66 105 17 6 2 45 22 19 0 .246 .246 (avg) .302 (-8%) .331 (-1%) .634 (-4%) -340.3
1887 BR3 AA 103 435 79 128 19 16 4 72 26 13 18 .294 .270 (+9%) .331 (-5%) .373 (+17%) .705 (+7%) 334.2
1888 BR3 AA 103 402 47 86 10 7 3 61 27 22 39 .214 .238 (-10%) .290 (-12%) .319 (-7%) .610 (-10%) -596.6
1889 BR3 AA 121 446 89 103 22 3 3 53 35 40 42 .231 .263 (-12%) .334 (-11%) .357 (-12%) .691 (-12%) -851.9
1890 BRO NL 129 481 76 92 6 5 1 47 24 42 23 .191 .260 (-27%) .336 (-23%) .351 (-34%) .687 (-29%) -2117.7
1891 CIN NL 138 512 50 103 11 5 3 53 16 38 32 .201 .254 (-21%) .331 (-22%) .343 (-24%) .675 (-23%) -1877.8
1892 CIN NL 139 506 58 123 13 6 8 63 19 42 52 .243 .244 (-1%) .316 (-5%) .327 (+4%) .644 (-1%) -114.2
1893 CIN NL 130 500 63 118 18 6 4 56 14 38 20 .236 .279 (-16%) .356 (-18%) .379 (-16%) .735 (-17%) -1457.9
1894 CIN NL 129 492 73 130 34 6 3 79 15 41 28 .264 .309 (-15%) .379 (-15%) .435 (-14%) .814 (-14%) -1316.0
1895 CIN NL 127 503 75 151 23 6 4 74 13 34 24 .300 .296 (+1%) .361 (-5%) .399 (-2%) .761 (-3%) -316.0
1896 CIN NL 120 456 65 131 21 9 3 71 22 28 22 .287 .290 (-1%) .354 (-7%) .387 (+1%) .741 (-3%) -296.2
1897 BRO NL 112 428 47 86 17 3 0 29 1 14 23 .201 .291 (-31%) .354 (-34%) .387 (-34%) .741 (-34%) -2466.8
1898 SLN NL 51 157 16 25 2 1 1 9 1 24 22 .159 .270 (-41%) .333 (-18%) .347 (-41%) .680 (-30%) -661.4
Career · 16 seasons 1,712 6,562 907 1,597 252 95 47 800 235 408 390 .243 — — — — -11,250

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

Germany Smith — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 0 0 1 9.00 0.0

Career ERA 9.00 vs. league average 3.11 across their career seasons — 189.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Germany 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
1884 ALT UA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 0 1 9.00 — 0.0
Career · 1 season 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1.0 3 1 0 1 9.00 — 0

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

Germany Smith — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
15 58 5 13 2 3 0 9 3 5 .224

Playoff Batting by Year

Germany Smith — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1890 WS BRO 7 29 3 8 0 2 0 7 0 3 .276
1889 WS BR3 8 29 2 5 2 1 0 2 3 2 .172

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (51 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Germany Smith — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home17485917.188
Away34110111602.145

Last 10 Games — Batting

Germany Smith — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1898-10-09 STLCHCL 200000000
1898-10-09 STLCHCL 401000000
1898-10-08 STLCHCL 401000001
1898-10-08 STLCL4W 311000000
1898-10-07 STLCL4L 200000001
1898-10-07 STLCL4L 100000020
1898-10-06 STLCL4L 200000000
1898-10-06 STLCL4W 200000011
1898-10-05 STLPITL 411000010
1898-10-04 STLPITW 412000200

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Germany Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 43 0 111 136 34 23
3B 2 0 4 2 2 0
C 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 2 0 0 0 0 0
P 1 0 0 0 0 0
SS 1667 0 2816 6166 973 588

Season-by-Season Fielding

Germany Smith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 ALT P 1 0 0 0 0 0
1884 ALT SS 25 0 40 88 19 1
1884 CL2 2B 42 0 111 136 34 23
1884 CL2 SS 30 0 44 107 16 3
1885 BR3 SS 108 0 161 455 81 23
1886 BR3 C 1 0 0 0 0 0
1886 BR3 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1886 BR3 SS 105 0 142 381 85 30
1887 BR3 3B 2 0 4 2 2 0
1887 BR3 SS 101 0 157 387 70 23
1888 BR3 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1888 BR3 SS 103 0 155 352 94 29
1889 BR3 OF 1 0 0 0 0 0
1889 BR3 SS 120 0 182 417 67 37
1890 BRO SS 129 0 232 468 74 49
1891 CIN SS 138 0 240 507 75 40
1892 CIN SS 139 0 239 561 70 55
1893 CIN SS 130 0 250 500 53 67
1894 CIN SS 129 0 236 513 74 76
1895 CIN SS 127 0 251 457 59 58
1896 CIN SS 120 0 207 407 49 47
1897 BRO SS 112 0 201 399 61 36
1898 SLN SS 51 0 79 167 26 14

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Germany Smith Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 1
Catcher 1
Second Base 43
Third Base 2
Shortstop 1667
Left Field 1
Right Field 1

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Howie Shanks
    .253 avg, 25 HR
  2. 97
    Alfredo Griffin
    .249 avg, 24 HR
  3. 96
    Joe Quinn
    .262 avg, 30 HR
  4. 93
    Terry Turner
    .253 avg, 8 HR
  5. 89
    Ozzie Guillen
    .264 avg, 28 HR
  6. 88
    Wid Conroy
    .248 avg, 22 HR

Germany Smith: the record in brief

Germany Smith's major league career runs from a debut on April 17, 1884 to a final game on October 9, 1898. The team column moves through the Altoona Mountain City (1884), the Cleveland Blues (1884), the Brooklyn Grays (1885 through 1887), the Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1888 through 1897), the Cincinnati Reds (1891 through 1896), and the St. Louis Browns (1898). The bio lists Smith as a shortstop who batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 6 feet, 0 inches and 175 pounds. The birth record reads April 20, 1859, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. The bio records the death on December 1, 1927, in Altoona, PA, USA. On the record, Germany Smith was born George J. Smith.

Smith's career batting table shows 1,712 games, 6,562 at bats and 1,597 hits, a .243 average, plus 47 homers, 800 runs batted in, and 235 stolen bases. Smith got on base at a .289 rate and slugged .332 (.622 OPS). The league as a whole hit .264 across Smith's seasons, which puts the .243 career mark 7.9% below average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Germany Smith

What years did Germany Smith play?
Germany Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1898.
Was Germany Smith a pitcher?
No. Germany Smith was a position player (Shortstop), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
How many home runs did Germany Smith hit?
Germany Smith hit 47 career home runs with 1597 hits.
What was Germany Smith's career batting average?
Germany Smith batted .243 over his career, with 1,597 hits in 6,562 at bats.
How many RBI did Germany Smith have?
Germany Smith drove in 800 runs in his career.
What was Germany Smith's career ERA?
Germany Smith finished with a 9.00 career ERA, going 0-0 with 1 strikeouts.