Phenomenal Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1884-1891)

Phenomenal Smith was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1891 for 7 teams, including the Philadelphia Athletics, a span of 8 seasons. Across 140 career appearances, he went 54-74 with a 3.89 ERA and 519 strikeouts. He also batted .250 with 2 home runs. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 90.

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

W–L 54–74
ERA 3.89
WHIP 1.42
SO 519
Pitcher PIV 2004.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / L
Height / Weight
5'6" / 161 lb
Born
12/12/1864 in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Died
4/3/1952 in Manchester, NH, USA
MLB Debut
1884-08-14
Last Game
1891-06-15

Full name: John Francis Smith

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Career Pitching Statistics

Phenomenal Smith — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
54 74 140 129 123 2 0 1169.1 1,177 506 20 479 519 3.89 2004.6

Career ERA 3.89 vs. league average 3.50 across their career seasons — 11.1% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Phenomenal Smith Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1884 PH4 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 14 4 1 3 4.00 3.11 (-29%) 0.0
1884 PT1 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 11 8 2 4 9.00 — 0.0
1885 BR3 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 12 11 6 2 12.38 — 0.0
1885 PH4 AA 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 7 4 4 7 9.00 — 0.0
1886 DTN NL 1 1 3 3 3 0 0 25.0 16 6 8 15 2.16 3.37 (+36%) 319.9
1887 BL2 AA 25 30 58 55 54 1 0 491.1 526 207 176 206 3.79 4.17 (+9%) 5336.0
1888 BL2 AA 14 19 35 32 31 0 0 292.0 249 117 137 152 3.61 2.95 (-22%) -3457.3
1888 PH4 AA 2 1 3 3 3 0 0 22.0 21 7 10 19 2.86 2.95 (+3%) 401.2
1889 PH4 AA 2 3 5 5 5 0 0 43.0 53 21 25 12 4.40 3.93 (-12%) -1153.5
1890 PHI NL 8 12 24 20 19 1 0 204.0 209 97 89 81 4.28 3.88 (-10%) 87.3
1890 PIT NL 1 3 5 5 5 0 0 44.0 39 15 13 15 3.07 3.88 (+21%) 772.0
1891 PHI NL 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 19.0 20 9 8 3 4.26 3.52 (-21%) -301.1
Career · 12 seasons 54 74 140 129 123 2 0 1,169.1 1,177 506 479 519 3.89 — 2,005

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

Phenomenal Smith — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
148 472 80 118 16 10 2 47 17 54 32 .250 .332 .339 .671 90

Career AVG .250 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .332 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — +6.2% above league average.

Career SLG .339 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .671 vs. league average .654 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Phenomenal 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 PH4 AA 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1884 PT1 AA 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1885 BR3 AA 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1885 PH4 AA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1886 DTN NL 3 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .111 — — — — 0.0
1887 BL2 AA 64 205 37 48 7 6 1 18 7 26 11 .234 .270 (-14%) .331 (-2%) .373 (-9%) .705 (-6%) -165.8
1888 BL2 AA 35 109 16 27 3 4 1 12 2 11 7 .248 .238 (+4%) .290 (+11%) .319 (+18%) .610 (+14%) 232.3
1888 PH4 AA 3 9 1 3 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 .333 — — — — 232.3
1889 PH4 AA 5 16 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 .188 — — — — 0.0
1890 PHI NL 26 86 19 24 4 0 0 10 6 10 5 .279 .260 (+7%) .336 (+7%) .351 (-7%) .687 (avg) 23.8
1890 PIT NL 5 17 3 7 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 .412 — — — — 23.8
1891 PHI NL 3 8 0 3 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 .375 — — — — 0.0
Career · 12 seasons 148 472 80 118 16 10 2 47 17 54 32 .250 — — — — 346

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.

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Phenomenal Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 11 0 9 0 5 0
P 140 0 32 199 44 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Phenomenal Smith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 PH4 P 1 0 0 3 1 0
1884 PT1 P 1 0 1 1 0 0
1885 BR3 P 1 0 2 2 1 0
1885 PH4 P 1 0 1 1 0 0
1886 DTN P 3 0 1 2 0 0
1887 BL2 OF 7 0 7 0 4 0
1887 BL2 P 58 0 9 99 20 1
1888 BL2 OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1888 BL2 P 35 0 8 50 17 1
1888 PH4 P 3 0 0 3 0 0
1889 PH4 P 5 0 0 4 1 1
1890 PHI OF 3 0 1 0 1 0
1890 PHI P 24 0 5 28 1 5
1890 PIT P 5 0 4 6 2 0
1891 PHI P 3 0 1 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Phenomenal Smith Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 140
Left Field 11

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    John Ewing
    53-63, 3.68 ERA
  2. 95
    Dave Danforth
    71-66, 3.89 ERA
  3. 90
    Sheldon Jones
    54-57, 3.96 ERA
  4. 90
    Al Mays
    53-89, 3.91 ERA
  5. 87
    Cinders O'Brien
    59-65, 3.68 ERA
  6. 85
    Henry Gruber
    61-78, 3.67 ERA

Phenomenal Smith: the record in brief

Phenomenal Smith's major league career runs from a debut on August 14, 1884 to a final game on June 15, 1891. The season rows list, in order, the Philadelphia Athletics (1884 to 1889), the Pittsburg Alleghenys (1884 to 1890), the Brooklyn Grays (1885), the Detroit Wolverines (1886), the Baltimore Orioles (1887 through 1888), and the Philadelphia Phillies (1890 to 1891). At 5-foot-6 and 161 pounds, Smith is listed as a pitcher. Smith threw and hit left-handed, per the bio block. Smith was born on December 12, 1864, in Philadelphia, PA, USA. Smith's death is recorded on April 3, 1952, in Manchester, NH, USA. Smith's full given name, per the bio, is John Francis Smith.

Smith's career pitching line is 54 wins, 74 losses and a 3.89 ERA over 140 appearances. The same table counts 519 strikeouts and 123 complete games. Against a 3.50 league ERA for the same seasons, the 3.89 mark was 11.1% worse. The best win total was 25, in 1887.

Frequently Asked Questions about Phenomenal Smith

What years did Phenomenal Smith play?
Phenomenal Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1884 to 1891.
Was Phenomenal Smith a pitcher?
Yes. Phenomenal Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 54 wins and 519 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Phenomenal Smith hit?
Phenomenal Smith hit 2 career home runs with 118 hits.
What was Phenomenal Smith's career batting average?
Phenomenal Smith batted .250 over his career, with 118 hits in 472 at bats.
How many RBI did Phenomenal Smith have?
Phenomenal Smith drove in 47 runs in his career.
What was Phenomenal Smith's career ERA?
Phenomenal Smith finished with a 3.89 career ERA, going 54-74 with 519 strikeouts.