What years did Mike Smithson play?

Mike Smithson played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1989.

Was Mike Smithson a pitcher?

Yes. Mike Smithson pitched in the major leagues, recording 76 wins and 731 strikeouts.

What teams did Mike Smithson play for?

Mike Smithson played for 3 teams: the Texas Rangers (1982–1983), the Minnesota Twins (1984–1987), and the Boston Red Sox (1988–1989).

What were Mike Smithson's career stats?

In 240 games, Mike Smithson went 76-86 with a 4.58 ERA, 731 strikeouts, 1,356.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves.

What was Mike Smithson's salary?

Mike Smithson's last recorded salary was $480,000, in 1990. His highest recorded salary was $540,000, in 1989, and his lowest was $335,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1990.

What position did Mike Smithson play?

Mike Smithson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.

How tall was Mike Smithson and how much did he weigh?

Mike Smithson was listed at 6 feet 8 inches and 215 pounds.

What was Mike Smithson's career ERA?

Mike Smithson finished with a 4.58 career ERA, going 76-86 with 731 strikeouts.

How many strikeouts did Mike Smithson have?

Mike Smithson recorded 731 career strikeouts.

Is Mike Smithson in the Hall of Fame?

No. Mike Smithson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Mike Smithson

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1982-1989)

Mike Smithson was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1989 for the Texas Rangers, the Minnesota Twins, and the Boston Red Sox, a span of 8 seasons. Across 240 career appearances, he went 76-86 with a 4.58 ERA and 731 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 25, 2026

W–L 76–86

ERA 4.58

WHIP 1.37

SO 731

Pitcher PIV -13939.0

Position: Pitcher
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'8" / 215 lb
Born: 1/21/1955 in Centerville, TN, USA
MLB Debut: 1982-08-27
Last Game: 1989-09-28

Full name: Billy Mike Smithson

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Career Pitching Statistics

Mike Smithson — Career Pitching Statistics
W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
76	86	240	204	41	6	2	1356.1	1,473	690	168	383	731	4.58	-13939.0

Career ERA 4.58 vs. league average 3.89 across their career seasons — 17.6% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Mike Smithson Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1982	TEX	AL	3	4	8	8	3	0	0	46.2	51	26	13	24	5.01	3.86 (-30%)	-287.6
1983	TEX	AL	10	14	33	33	10	0	0	223.1	233	97	71	135	3.91	3.87 (-1%)	2628.9
1984	MIN	AL	15	13	36	36	10	1	0	252.0	246	103	54	144	3.68	3.81 (+3%)	-2255.4
1985	MIN	AL	15	14	37	37	8	3	0	257.0	264	124	78	127	4.34	3.89 (-12%)	-981.2
1986	MIN	AL	13	14	34	33	8	1	0	198.0	234	105	57	114	4.77	3.97 (-20%)	-2127.7
1987	MIN	AL	4	7	21	20	0	0	0	109.0	126	72	38	53	5.94	4.29 (-38%)	-2523.8
1988	BOS	AL	9	6	31	18	1	0	0	126.2	149	84	37	73	5.97	3.73 (-60%)	-4645.3
1989	BOS	AL	7	14	40	19	1	1	2	143.2	170	79	35	61	4.95	3.71 (-33%)	-3747.0
Career · 8 seasons			76	86	240	204	41	6	2	1,356.1	1,473	690	383	731	4.58	—	-13,939

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

Mike Smithson — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
240	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.

Mike Smithson — Season-by-Season Batting
Year	Team	Lg	G	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1982	TEX	AL	8	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1983	TEX	AL	33	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1984	MIN	AL	36	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1985	MIN	AL	37	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1986	MIN	AL	34	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1987	MIN	AL	21	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1988	BOS	AL	31	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1989	BOS	AL	40	.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
Career · 8 seasons			240	—	—	—	—	—	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

Mike Smithson — Playoff Career Batting
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Mike Smithson — Playoff Batting by Year
Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1988	ALCS	BOS	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000

Playoff Career Pitching

Mike Smithson — Playoff Career Pitching
W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	0	1	0	0	2.1	3	0	0	1	0.00

Playoff Pitching by Year

Mike Smithson — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1988	ALCS	BOS	0	0	1	0	0	2.1	3	0	0	1	0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (480 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Mike Smithson — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	119	0	0	0	0	0	—
Away	121	0	0	0	0	0	—

Pitching — Home / Away

Mike Smithson — Pitching — Home / Away
Split	G	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
Home	119	675.1	737	336	177	383	4.48
Away	121	681.0	736	355	206	348	4.69

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Mike Smithson — Last 10 Games — Pitching
Date	Tm	Opp	Dec	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
1989-09-28	BOS	MIL	—	3.0	5	2	2	0	0	1
1989-09-22	BOS	DET	—	1.1	1	0	0	0	1	0
1989-09-06	BOS	OAK	L	2.0	3	5	5	1	0	1
1989-09-01	BOS	SEA	L	6.2	7	4	4	0	1	3
1989-08-29	BOS	LAA	—	2.2	6	3	3	0	1	0
1989-08-25	BOS	DET	W	7.0	3	1	1	0	3	0
1989-08-20	BOS	MIL	L	5.1	7	4	4	2	1	1
1989-08-15	BOS	TOR	L	2.0	8	4	4	0	2	2
1989-08-11	BOS	BAL	L	5.0	7	3	2	2	0	1
1989-08-05	BOS	CLE	W	7.0	6	2	1	1	2	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Mike Smithson — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	240	204	86	168	12	17

Season-by-Season Fielding

Mike Smithson — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1982	TEX	P	8	8	2	3	0	0
1983	TEX	P	33	33	19	33	2	3
1984	MIN	P	36	36	17	29	2	2
1985	MIN	P	37	37	16	28	2	4
1986	MIN	P	34	33	10	32	2	4
1987	MIN	P	21	20	6	11	0	1
1988	BOS	P	31	18	7	13	3	0
1989	BOS	P	40	19	9	19	1	3

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Mike Smithson — Career Games by Position
Position	Games
Pitcher	240

Salary History

Mike Smithson's recorded salaries total $1,805,000 over 4 seasons, 1985 to 1990. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Smithson's career ran from 1982 to 1989. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1987 and 1988.

Mike Smithson — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1990	CAL	AL	$480,000
1989	BOS	AL	$540,000
1986	MIN	AL	$450,000
1985	MIN	AL	$335,000
Total recorded salary (partial)			$1,805,000

College History

Mike Smithson — College History
School Name	City	State	Years Attended
University of Tennessee	Knoxville	TN	1975, 1976

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Mike Smithson (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Mike Smithson: the record in brief

August 27, 1982 and September 28, 1989 bracket Mike Smithson's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the Texas Rangers (1982 to 1983), the Minnesota Twins (1984 through 1987), and the Boston Red Sox (1988 through 1989). At 215 pounds on a 6-foot-8 frame, Smithson is listed as a pitcher. Smithson both batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. Smithson was born on January 21, 1955, in Centerville, TN, USA. The bio lists the given name Billy Mike.

The pitching table credits Smithson with a 76-86 record and a 4.58 ERA in 240 games. The same table counts 731 strikeouts, 41 complete games, and 6 shutouts. Against a 3.89 league ERA for the same seasons, the 4.58 mark was 17.6% worse. No season topped the 15 wins of 1984. 1984 was Smithson's sharpest full season, a 3.68 ERA against the league's 3.81.

Every defensive appearance on record for Smithson, 240 games, came at pitcher. On the mound, the fielding record shows 12 errors alongside 86 putouts and 168 assists.

Pitching in the playoffs, Smithson went 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 1 games. Those appearances came in 1988.

Frequently Asked Questions about Mike Smithson

What years did Mike Smithson play?: Mike Smithson played in Major League Baseball from 1982 to 1989.
Was Mike Smithson a pitcher?: Yes. Mike Smithson pitched in the major leagues, recording 76 wins and 731 strikeouts.
What teams did Mike Smithson play for?: Mike Smithson played for 3 teams: the Texas Rangers (1982–1983), the Minnesota Twins (1984–1987), and the Boston Red Sox (1988–1989).
What were Mike Smithson's career stats?: In 240 games, Mike Smithson went 76-86 with a 4.58 ERA, 731 strikeouts, 1,356.1 innings pitched, and 2 saves.
How much did Mike Smithson earn in his career?: Mike Smithson's recorded salaries total $1,805,000 over 4 seasons, 1985 to 1990. This total is partial: the salary data covers 1985 to 2016, and Smithson's career ran from 1982 to 1989. His seasons before 1985 are not included, and no salary is recorded for 1987 and 1988.
What was Mike Smithson's salary?: Mike Smithson's last recorded salary was $480,000, in 1990. His highest recorded salary was $540,000, in 1989, and his lowest was $335,000, in 1985. The Salary History table lists each season from 1985 to 1990.
What position did Mike Smithson play?: Mike Smithson played primarily as a pitcher, the position where he appeared in the most games.
How tall was Mike Smithson and how much did he weigh?: Mike Smithson was listed at 6 feet 8 inches and 215 pounds.
What was Mike Smithson's career ERA?: Mike Smithson finished with a 4.58 career ERA, going 76-86 with 731 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Mike Smithson have?: Mike Smithson recorded 731 career strikeouts.
Is Mike Smithson in the Hall of Fame?: No. Mike Smithson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.