Johnny Smith
Right Fielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records
Johnny Smith was a right fielder who played in Major League Baseball for 4 teams, including the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords. In 159 career games, he hit .307 with 187 hits, 3 home runs, and 80 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 333.
- 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
- Right Fielder
- Bats / Throws
- L / L
- Born
- 1917
Full name: John Smith
Negro Leagues Career Statistics
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 159 | 610 | 81 | 187 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 80 | 5 | 33 | 5 | .307 | .342 | .389 | .730 | 333 |
Career AVG .307 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — +17.8% above league average.
Career OBP .342 vs. league average .330 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .389 vs. league average .364 across their career seasons — +6.8% above league average.
Career OPS .730 vs. league average .694 across their career seasons — +5.2% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | TIC | NAL | 16 | 58 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .224 | .267 (-16%) | .335 (-18%) | .387 (-33%) | .722 (-26%) | -242.9 |
| 1942 | BBB | NAL | 16 | 56 | 9 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .286 | .253 (+13%) | .323 (-4%) | .349 (+17%) | .672 (+7%) | 36.4 |
| 1943 | CAG | NAL | 24 | 98 | 15 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | .214 | .255 (-16%) | .324 (-25%) | .346 (-23%) | .671 (-24%) | -371.3 |
| 1944 | CAG | NAL | 12 | 41 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | .317 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CAG | NAL | 36 | 143 | 23 | 48 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 31 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .336 | .260 (+29%) | .328 (+13%) | .354 (+30%) | .683 (+22%) | 458.2 |
| 1946 | NBY | NN2 | 10 | 36 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | .306 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1947 | NBY | NN2 | 23 | 97 | 13 | 39 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .402 | .262 (+53%) | .336 (+26%) | .376 (+34%) | .712 (+31%) | 453.7 |
| 1948 | NBY | NN2 | 22 | 81 | 8 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0 | .321 | .263 (+22%) | .340 (+6%) | .379 (-6%) | .719 (avg) | -0.7 |
| Career · 8 seasons | 159 | 610 | 81 | 187 | 19 | 11 | 3 | 80 | 5 | 33 | 5 | .307 | — | — | — | — | 333 | ||
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.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | TIC | NAL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 1.29 | — | 0.0 |
| 1944 | CAG | NAL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0.00 | 3.57 (+100%) | 0.0 |
| 1945 | CAG | NAL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3.12 | — | 0.0 |
| 1948 | NBY | NN2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15.2 | 21 | 13 | 6 | 4 | 7.47 | 4.10 (-82%) | -929.2 |
| Career · 4 seasons | 2 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 40.1 | 34 | 17 | 12 | 15 | 3.79 | — | -929 | ||
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 (173 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 70 | 236 | 28 | 79 | 2 | 25 | .335 |
| Away | 90 | 294 | 40 | 89 | 2 | 24 | .303 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 5 | 29.0 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 0.00 |
| Away | 8 | 32.0 | 32 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0.00 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-09-05 | NY5 | NW2 | L | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-09-05 | NY5 | NW2 | W | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-08 | NY5 | HOM | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-08-08 | NY5 | HOM | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-27 | NY5 | PH5 | L | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-18 | NY5 | BLG | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-18 | NY5 | BLG | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-16 | NY5 | NW2 | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-10 | NY5 | NY6 | L | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-07-09 | NY5 | NY6 | L | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948-08-08 | NY5 | HOM | — | 7.0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 1948-07-10 | NY5 | NY6 | — | 3.0 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948-06-25 | NY5 | BLG | L | 5.0 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-06-11 | NY5 | HOM | L | 6.0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1948-06-04 | NY5 | BLG | — | 1.0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948-05-15 | NY5 | HOM | L | 6.0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-08-29 | NY5 | BLG | — | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947-05-24 | NY5 | HOM | L | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1945-05-25 | CAG | KCM | L | 8.0 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 1944-08-31 | CAG | CVB | W | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 4 | 3 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| C | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| OF | 152 | 144 | 227 | 17 | 11 | 3 |
| P | 7 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 0 |
| SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | TIC | OF | 15 | 15 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1940 | TIC | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | BBB | 1B | 2 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1942 | BBB | OF | 12 | 12 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | CAG | 1B | 2 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1943 | CAG | C | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1943 | CAG | OF | 23 | 21 | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| 1944 | CAG | OF | 11 | 11 | 25 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1944 | CAG | P | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945 | CAG | OF | 36 | 34 | 50 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 1945 | CAG | P | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | NBY | OF | 10 | 9 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1947 | NBY | OF | 22 | 22 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 1947 | NBY | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948 | NBY | OF | 23 | 20 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1948 | NBY | P | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 7 |
| Catcher | 1 |
| First Base | 4 |
| Shortstop | 1 |
| Left Field | 33 |
| Center Field | 6 |
| Right Field | 113 |
Johnny Smith: the record in brief
Johnny Smith's record on this page is drawn from the season tables, which run from 1940 to 1948. Club by club, the record runs the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords (1940), the Birmingham Black Barons (1942), the Chicago American Giants (1943 to 1945), and the New York Black Yankees (1946 through 1948). Smith played primarily as a right fielder and batted and threw left-handed. Smith was born in 1917. Johnny Smith was the playing name; the full given name is John.
In 159 games and 610 at bats, Smith batted .307 with 187 hits, plus 3 home runs and 80 RBI. On-base and slugging figures of .342 and .389 give Smith a career OPS of .730. Set against a .260 league average for the same years, Smith's .307 average sits 17.8% above it. In OPS terms, Smith's .730 stands 5.2% above the league's .694. No season topped the 48 hits of 1945. In 1947, a season of regular play, Smith hit .402 while the league hit .262.
Frequently Asked Questions about Johnny Smith
- Was Johnny Smith a pitcher?
- No. Johnny Smith was a position player (Right Fielder), though he did pitch in 7 career games.
- How many home runs did Johnny Smith hit?
- Johnny Smith hit 3 career home runs with 187 hits.
- What was Johnny Smith's career batting average?
- Johnny Smith batted .307 over his career, with 187 hits in 610 at bats.
- How many RBI did Johnny Smith have?
- Johnny Smith drove in 80 runs in his career.
- What was Johnny Smith's career ERA?
- Johnny Smith finished with a 3.79 career ERA, going 2-2 with 15 strikeouts.
- Is Johnny Smith in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Johnny Smith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.