Lee Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Hall of Fame Bio & Records (1980-1997)

⭐ Hall of Fame 2019
W–L 71–92
ERA 3.03
WHIP 1.26
SO 1,251
Pitcher PIV 33335.5
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'5" / 220 lb
Born
12/4/1957 in Jamestown, LA, USA
MLB Debut
1980-09-01
Last Game
1997-07-02
Hall of Fame
Inducted 2019 (BBWAA)
Awards
7× All-Star · 3× Reliever of the Year

Full name: Lee Arthur Smith

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Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
71 92 1,022 6 0 0 478 1289.3 1,133 434 89 486 1,251 3.03 33335.5

Career ERA 3.03 vs. league average 4.02 across their career seasons — 24.6% better than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

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
1980 CHN NL 2 0 18 0 0 0 0 21.7 21 7 14 17 2.91 3.84 (+24%) 391.9
1981 CHN NL 3 6 40 1 0 0 1 66.7 57 26 31 50 3.51 3.58 (+2%) 1103.7
1982 CHN NL 2 5 72 5 0 0 17 117.0 105 35 37 99 2.69 3.86 (+30%) 3766.6
1983 CHN NL 4 10 66 0 0 0 29 103.3 70 19 41 91 1.65 3.87 (+57%) 2718.0
1984 CHN NL 9 7 69 0 0 0 33 101.0 98 41 35 86 3.65 3.81 (+4%) 2407.1
1985 CHN NL 7 4 65 0 0 0 33 97.7 87 33 32 112 3.04 3.89 (+22%) 3215.7
1986 CHN NL 9 9 66 0 0 0 31 90.3 69 31 42 93 3.09 3.97 (+22%) 1974.4
1987 CHN NL 4 10 62 0 0 0 36 83.7 84 29 32 96 3.12 4.29 (+27%) 4145.5
1988 BOS AL 4 5 64 0 0 0 29 83.7 72 26 37 96 2.80 3.73 (+25%) 1721.9
1989 BOS AL 6 1 64 0 0 0 25 70.7 53 28 33 96 3.57 3.71 (+4%) 2078.7
1990 BOS AL 2 1 11 0 0 0 4 14.3 13 3 9 17 1.88 3.86 (+51%) 554.0
1990 SLN NL 3 4 53 0 0 0 27 68.7 58 16 20 70 2.10 3.86 (+46%) 2872.7
1991 SLN NL 6 3 67 0 0 0 47 73.0 70 19 13 67 2.34 3.91 (+40%) 2716.5
1992 SLN NL 4 9 70 0 0 0 43 75.0 62 26 26 60 3.12 3.75 (+17%) 1578.3
1993 SLN NL 2 4 55 0 0 0 43 50.0 49 25 9 49 4.50 4.19 (-7%) -297.2
1993 NYA AL 0 0 8 0 0 0 3 8.0 4 0 5 11 0.00 — 0.0
1994 BAL AL 1 4 41 0 0 0 33 38.3 34 14 11 42 3.29 4.51 (+27%) 653.2
1995 CAL AL 0 5 52 0 0 0 37 49.3 42 19 25 43 3.47 4.45 (+22%) 896.3
1996 CAL AL 0 0 11 0 0 0 0 11.0 8 3 3 6 2.45 4.61 (+47%) 471.9
1996 CIN NL 3 4 43 0 0 0 2 44.3 49 20 23 35 4.06 4.61 (+12%) 247.5
1997 MON NL 0 1 25 0 0 0 5 21.7 28 14 8 15 5.82 4.39 (-32%) 119.0
Career · 21 seasons 71 92 1,022 6 0 0 478 1,289.1 1,133 434 486 1,251 3.03 — 33,335

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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,023 64 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 3 42 .047 .090 .094 .183 0

Career AVG .047 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 82.0% below league average.

Career OBP .090 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — 72.7% below league average.

Career SLG .094 vs. league average .396 across their career seasons — 76.3% below league average.

Career OPS .183 vs. league average .723 across their career seasons — 74.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

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
1980 CHN NL 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1981 CHN NL 40 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 .000 — — — — 0.0
1982 CHN NL 72 16 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 1 9 .062 — — — — 0.0
1983 CHN NL 66 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .111 — — — — 0.0
1984 CHN NL 69 13 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 .077 — — — — 0.0
1985 CHN NL 65 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1986 CHN NL 66 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 .000 — — — — 0.0
1987 CHN NL 63 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1988 BOS AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1989 BOS AL 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 BOS AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1990 SLN NL 53 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 SLN NL 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1992 SLN NL 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 SLN NL 55 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 NYA AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 BAL AL 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1995 CAL AL 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 CAL AL 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 CIN NL 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1997 MON NL 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 21 seasons 1,023 64 2 3 0 0 1 2 0 3 42 .047 — — — — 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

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1988 ALCS BOS 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1984 NLCS CHN 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Career Pitching

W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 2 4 0 1 5.3 9 5 1 7 8.44

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1988 ALCS BOS 0 1 2 0 0 3.3 6 3 1 4 8.10
1984 NLCS CHN 0 1 2 0 1 2.0 3 2 0 3 9.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2045 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home543271101.037
Away480371211.054

Pitching — Home / Away

SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home542696.26372442316933.15
Away480592.24961902555582.89

Last 10 Games — Pitching

DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1997-07-02 WSNTOR — 2.0100000
1997-06-28 WSNMIA — 1.0000110
1997-06-24 WSNCIN — 0.0222100
1997-06-17 WSNBAL — 1.0111011
1997-06-10 WSNPHI SV 1.0100010
1997-06-04 WSNATL — 1.0211000
1997-05-30 WSNPIT — 0.1220010
1997-05-27 WSNNYN SV 1.0000000
1997-05-25 WSNPIT — 0.0233101
1997-05-22 WSNPIT — 1.0333110

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
P 1022 6 52 111 4 9

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1980 CHN P 18 0 0 3 0 0
1981 CHN P 40 1 3 9 0 0
1982 CHN P 72 5 9 10 1 2
1983 CHN P 66 0 8 9 0 0
1984 CHN P 69 0 6 13 0 2
1985 CHN P 65 0 3 9 0 1
1986 CHN P 66 0 1 12 0 2
1987 CHN P 62 0 3 8 0 0
1988 BOS P 64 0 5 4 1 0
1989 BOS P 64 0 1 1 0 0
1990 BOS P 11 0 0 2 0 0
1990 SLN P 53 0 2 1 0 0
1991 SLN P 67 0 3 6 0 0
1992 SLN P 70 0 1 7 1 1
1993 SLN P 55 0 0 1 0 0
1993 NYA P 8 0 0 1 0 0
1994 BAL P 41 0 2 2 1 0
1995 CAL P 52 0 1 4 0 0
1996 CAL P 11 0 1 0 0 0
1996 CIN P 43 0 2 5 0 1
1997 MON P 25 0 1 4 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Pitcher 1023

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1994 Reliever of the Year Award
1994 TSN Fireman of the Year
1993 Player of the Week Week of 1993-06-26
1992 Player of the Week Week of 1992-08-29
1992 Reliever of the Year Award
1992 TSN Fireman of the Year
1991 Pitcher of the Month April
1991 Player of the Week Week of 1991-09-28
1991 Reliever of the Year Award
1991 TSN Fireman of the Year
1983 TSN Fireman of the Year

Salary History

Year Team League Salary
1997 MON NL $400,000
1996 CAL AL $2,100,000
1995 CAL AL $2,561,113
1994 BAL AL $2,025,000
1993 SLN NL $2,691,667
1992 SLN NL $2,791,667
1991 SLN NL $2,791,666
1990 BOS AL $1,200,000
1989 BOS AL $1,425,000
1988 BOS AL $850,000
1987 CHN NL $840,000
1986 CHN NL $720,000
1985 CHN NL $670,000
Total Career Earnings $21,066,113

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1994 Cy Young Award AL 5th 1.0 140 0
1994 Most Valuable Player AL 14th 18.0 392 0
1992 Cy Young Award NL 4th 3.0 120 0
1991 Cy Young Award NL 2nd 60.0 120 4
1991 Most Valuable Player NL 8th 89.0 336 0
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 21th 4.0 392 0
1983 Cy Young Award NL 9th 1.0 120 0
1983 Most Valuable Player NL 18th 8.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    John Franco
    90-87, 2.89 ERA
  2. 92
    Francisco Rodriguez
    52-53, 2.86 ERA
  3. 84
    Jeff Reardon
    73-77, 3.16 ERA
  4. 76
    Roberto Hernandez
    67-71, 3.45 ERA
  5. 75
    Randy Myers
    44-63, 3.19 ERA
  6. 74
    Joe Nathan
    64-34, 2.87 ERA

Compare Lee Smith

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Smith's closest peers by position and era.

vs Mariano Rivera
vs Dennis Eckersley
vs Hoyt Wilhelm
vs Billy Wagner
vs Trevor Hoffman
vs Aroldis Chapman

Browse all MLB player comparisons →

Frequently Asked Questions about Lee Smith

What years did Lee Smith play?
Lee Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1997.
Was Lee Smith a pitcher?
Yes. Lee Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 71 wins and 1251 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Lee Smith hit?
Lee Smith hit 1 career home runs with 3 hits.
Is Lee Smith in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Lee Smith was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2019.