He also served as hitting coach for the 2007 IBAF Baseball World Cup in Taiwan (Gold). Smith again served as USA hitting coach in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia where the US Team took home Gold. Smith became involved with USA Baseball in 1999 as hitting coach on the 1999 Professional Team at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Manitoba (Silver, Olympic qualifiers). 234 (25-for-107) with 17 runs, 6 home runs, and 17 RBI.Īfter his playing career ended, Smith rejoined the Dodgers, where he served as a coach under Tommy Lasorda, a minor league instructor, and a player development official. In four World Series and four playoff series covering 32 games, he hit. In 1,987 games over 17 Major League seasons, Smith posted a. Smith was a productive power-hitter for the Giants for two seasons, but often bristled against the codified traditions of the Yomiuri organization in particular and baseball in Japan in general. Five months later, Smith joined the Giants as a free agent.Īfter one season in San Francisco, Smith then moved to NPB with the Yomiuri Giants, at a salary of close to a million dollars and the use of three automobiles. He was ejected from the game, and Dooley was arrested. Smith then jumped into the stands at Candlestick Park and started punching him. In the 1981 season as a member of the Dodgers, Smith was taunted by Giants fan Michael Dooley, who then threw a batting helmet at him. "He was a Don Baylor type, an outspoken enforcer, a guy who played his fanny off for us." Tommy John, who also played with Smith in Los Angeles, thought that Smith was a great leader. This led to an infamous clubhouse wrestling match between Sutton and Garvey. In the 1978 season, Dodger pitcher Don Sutton went public with comments that Smith was a more valuable player to the Dodgers than the more-celebrated Steve Garvey. On June 15, 1976, Smith was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Bob Detherage, Joe Ferguson, and Freddie Tisdale. He later called Boston a racist city, and was censured for his comments by Boston mayor Kevin White. Louis Cardinals for Bernie Carbo and Rick Wise on October 26, 1973. Smith was traded along with Ken Tatum from the Red Sox to the St. He hit three home runs in the 1977 series. He appeared in four World Series, including during his rookie 1967 season for the Red Sox, and three ( 1977, 19) for the Dodgers. Louis Cardinals (1974–76), Los Angeles Dodgers (1976–81) and San Francisco Giants (1982). He was called up to the MLB late in that season and played for the Boston Red Sox (1966–73), St. 320 average while playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the International League batting title in 1966 with a. Smith grew up in Los Angeles, California, and attended Centennial High School in Compton, California. Smith played at least seventy games in thirteen different seasons, and in every one of those thirteen seasons, his team had a winning record. In his prime, he had one of the strongest throwing arms of any outfielder in the MLB. He was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed. During a seventeen-year MLB career (1966–1982), Smith appeared in 1,987 games, hit 314 home runs with 1,092 RBI and batted. He also played in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for two seasons at the end of his playing career. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and afterwards served as a coach and front office executive. October 3, 1982, for the San Francisco Giants September 18, 1966, for the Boston Red Sox
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