What years did Roy Smith play?

Roy Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1991.

Was Roy Smith a pitcher?

Yes. Roy Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 30 wins and 320 strikeouts.

What was Roy Smith's career ERA?

Roy Smith finished with a 4.60 career ERA, going 30-31 with 320 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Roy Smith have?

Roy Smith recorded 320 career strikeouts.

Is Roy Smith in the Hall of Fame?

No. Roy Smith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Roy Smith

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1984-1991)

Roy Smith was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1991 for the Cleveland Guardians, the Minnesota Twins, and the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 8 seasons. Across 136 career appearances, he went 30-31 with a 4.60 ERA and 320 strikeouts.

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 October 12, 2026

W–L 30–31

ERA 4.60

WHIP 1.47

SO 320

Pitcher PIV -9893.2

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'3" / 200 lb
Born: 9/6/1961 in Mount Vernon, NY, USA
MLB Debut: 1984-06-23
Last Game: 1991-08-16

Full name: LeRoy Purdy Smith

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Career Pitching Statistics

Roy Smith — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
30	31	136	93	4	1	1	618.1	707	316	80	202	320	4.60	-9893.2

Career ERA 4.60 vs. league average 3.90 across their career seasons — 18.0% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Roy Smith (b. 1961) Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1984	CLE	AL	5	5	22	14	0	0	0	86.1	91	44	40	55	4.59	3.81 (-20%)	-2624.3
1985	CLE	AL	1	4	12	11	1	0	0	62.1	84	37	17	28	5.34	3.89 (-37%)	-665.7
1986	MIN	AL	0	2	5	0	0	0	0	10.1	13	8	5	8	6.97	3.97 (-75%)	-64.6
1987	MIN	AL	1	0	7	1	0	0	0	16.1	20	9	6	8	4.96	4.29 (-16%)	-594.2
1988	MIN	AL	3	0	9	4	0	0	0	37.0	29	11	12	17	2.68	3.73 (+28%)	-207.7
1989	MIN	AL	10	6	32	26	2	0	1	172.1	180	75	51	92	3.92	3.71 (-6%)	-2668.0
1990	MIN	AL	5	10	32	23	1	1	0	153.1	191	82	47	87	4.81	3.86 (-25%)	-1638.6
1991	BAL	AL	5	4	17	14	0	0	0	80.1	99	50	24	25	5.60	3.91 (-43%)	-1430.2
Career · 8 seasons			30	31	136	93	4	1	1	618.1	707	316	202	320	4.60	—	-9,893

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

Roy Smith — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
136	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	0

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Roy Smith — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1984	CLE	AL	22	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	CLE	AL	12	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	MIN	AL	5	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	MIN	AL	7	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	MIN	AL	9	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	MIN	AL	32	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1990	MIN	AL	32	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1991	BAL	AL	17	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			136	—	—	—	—	—	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.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (272 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Roy Smith — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	69	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	67	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

Roy Smith — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	69	332.0	359	154	103	168	4.17
Away	67	286.1	348	162	99	152	5.09

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Roy Smith — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1991-08-16	BAL	MIL	L	2.1	7	4	4	0	0	0
1991-08-13	BAL	TEX	—	2.1	3	1	1	0	1	0
1991-08-10	BAL	CHW	—	6.1	5	4	4	3	3	1
1991-08-05	BAL	MIL	—	1.2	3	3	3	3	0	0
1991-07-30	BAL	SEA	L	1.2	6	6	6	2	0	1
1991-07-25	BAL	LAA	—	3.2	5	3	3	1	0	1
1991-07-19	BAL	SEA	W	7.0	6	1	1	1	3	1
1991-07-14	BAL	OAK	—	8.2	7	1	1	0	4	0
1991-07-04	BAL	NYY	L	7.0	7	3	3	2	1	2
1991-06-29	BAL	BOS	W	5.0	7	2	2	1	0	1

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Roy Smith — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	136	93	41	44	4	1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Roy Smith — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1984	CLE	P	22	14	4	6	3	0
1985	CLE	P	12	11	6	3	0	0
1986	MIN	P	5	0	0	1	0	0
1987	MIN	P	7	1	0	2	0	0
1988	MIN	P	9	4	3	2	0	0
1989	MIN	P	32	26	9	13	0	1
1990	MIN	P	32	23	10	9	1	0
1991	BAL	P	17	14	9	8	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Roy Smith — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	136

Salary History

Roy Smith — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1990	MIN	AL	$355,000
1989	MIN	AL	$100,000
Total Career Earnings			$455,000

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

Roy Smith: the record in brief

June 23, 1984 and August 16, 1991 bracket Roy Smith's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Smith played for the Cleveland Indians (1984 to 1985), the Minnesota Twins (1986 through 1990), and the Baltimore Orioles (1991). Smith played primarily as a pitcher and batted and threw right-handed. The bio adds a birth date on September 6, 1961, in Mount Vernon, NY, USA and a listed size of 6 feet, 3 inches and 200 pounds. Roy Smith was the playing name; the full given name is LeRoy Purdy.

Smith went 30-31 with a 4.60 ERA in 136 games, 93 of them starts. Also on Smith's record: 320 strikeouts. The league ERA over Smith's seasons was 3.90, so the 4.60 figure ran 18.0% worse than average. No season topped the 10 wins of 1989. 1989 was Smith's sharpest full season, a 3.92 ERA against the league's 3.71.

Smith appears at one position only: pitcher, in 136 games. On the mound, Smith's fielding totals are 41 putouts, 44 assists and 4 errors.

The salary table's largest figure is $355,000 in 1990, and the listed salaries total $455,000. The game-log section draws on 272 games of Retrosheet box scores for Smith.

The similarity section pairs Smith most closely with Jae Weong Seo, Mike Harkey, and Mike Paxton.

Frequently Asked Questions about Roy Smith

What years did Roy Smith play?: Roy Smith played in Major League Baseball from 1984 to 1991.
Was Roy Smith a pitcher?: Yes. Roy Smith pitched in the major leagues, recording 30 wins and 320 strikeouts.
What was Roy Smith's career ERA?: Roy Smith finished with a 4.60 career ERA, going 30-31 with 320 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Roy Smith have?: Roy Smith recorded 320 career strikeouts.
Is Roy Smith in the Hall of Fame?: No. Roy Smith has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Roy Smith play for?: Roy Smith played for the Cleveland Guardians, the Minnesota Twins, and the Baltimore Orioles.