Ozzie Smith
Shortstop
Born: December 26 1954 (1954--) (age 52)
Batted: Switch	Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 7, 1978 for the San Diego Padres
Final game
October 17, 1996 for the St. Louis Cardinals
Career statistics
Batting avg	.262
Hits	2460
Stolen bases	580
Teams
San Diego Padres (1978-1981) St. Louis Cardinals (1982-1996)
Career highlights and awards
1982 World Series Champion 1985 NLCS MVP 13-time Gold Glove winner at shortstop (1980-1992) 15-time All-star (1981-1992, 1994-1996)
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Elected	2002
Vote	91.7% (first ballot)

Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith (born December 26, 1954, in Mobile, Alabama) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Nicknamed "The Wizard of Oz", he is widely cited as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, having won 13 consecutive Gold Glove Awards during his career.

Before the Big Leagues

As he relates in his 1988 book Wizard, Ozzie's parents moved him, his four brothers and sister from Mobile to the Watts section of South Central Los Angeles when he was six. His parents encouraged him to play baseball from a young age, and when he wasn't down at the local YMCA or playing ball of some kind, Ozzie sometimes went with friends to the neighborhood lumberyard, springboarding off inner tubes and doing flips into sawdust piles. This turned out to be a fun precursor to his famous backflips during his playing days. However, reality hit home during the summer of 1965, as the 10-year old Smith and his family found themselves in the middle of the Watts riots. As a passage from Wizard describes,

"We were right in the middle of the Watts riots. The National Guard set up its camp right across the street from our house. I don't know how many people have ever seen the National Guard break in somewhere, but they mean business. We had to sleep on the floor because of all the sniping and looting going on."^[1]

Despite some adverse surroundings, Ozzie's passion for athletics continued to grow. Growing up as a LA Dodgers fan, he would ride the bus for nearly an hour to get to Dodger Stadium, attending about 25 games a year. His interest in baseball only grew, and he went on to play baseball and basketball at Locke High School, where he counted Marques Johnson as a teammate on the basketball squad, and Hall of Famer Eddie Murray as a teammate on the baseball side. Smith later received a partial academic scholarship to Cal-Poly, where he walked onto the baseball team.

Career

Ozzie was first selected in the seventh round of the 1976 amateur entry draft by the Detroit Tigers. However, Smith and the Tigers were unable to agree on contract parameters, and the Tigers were more comfortable with the plate presence of Alan Trammell. Ozzie went back into the draft pool the following season, and was selected in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres. Smith subsequently spent his entire first year of professional baseball in 1977 with the now defunct Walla Walla Padres of the Northwest League.

The Padre Years

Ozzie received an invitation to the San Diego Padres' spring training camp in Yuma, Arizona as a non-roster player in 1978. Smith credits Padre manager Alvin Dark for instilling confidence in him, and Dark even went as far as telling reporters the shortstop job was Ozzie's until he proved he couldn't handle it^[2]. But in a sign of things to come during his time with the Padres, Dark was fired in the middle of training camp. Nevertheless, Ozzie made his MLB debut on April 7, 1978^[3].

It didn't take long for Smith to make a name for himself in the big leagues, making what some consider his greatest defensive play only ten games into his rookie season. The Padres played host to the Atlanta Braves on April 20, 1978, and with two out in the top of the fourth inning, Atlanta's Jeff Burroughs hit a grounder up the middle^[4]. As Smith describes the play in his own words:

"He (Burroughs) hit a ball back up the middle that everybody thought was going into center field. I instinctively broke to my left and dove behind second. As I was in the air, the ball took a bad hop and caromed behind me, but I was able to catch it with my bare hand. I hit the ground, bounced back up, and threw Burroughs out at first^[5]."

Despite his profound defensive abilities, Ozzie's hitting was still very much a work-in-progress, punctuated by an 0 for 32 start to the 1979 season^[6]. Adding to this was the friction that soon developed between Padre ownership and Ozzie and his agent at the time, Ed Gottlieb. As an example, the parties got into a contract dispute before the 1980 season, and when negotiations lasted into spring training, the Padres opted to renew Smith's contact at his 1979 salary level of $72,500^[7]. Angered by the Padres' attitude during those contract talks, Gottlieb took out a help-wanted ad in the San Diego Union, part of which read, "Padre baseball player wants part time employment to supplement income^[8]." When the wife of the club's owner publicly offered Smith a job as an assistant to the gardener on her estate, it became clear Ozzie's days with the Padres were numbered^[9].

Aside from the turmoil, Ozzie was increasingly recognized for his outstanding abilities on the field. He began his sting of 13 consecutive Gold Glove awards by winning the honor for the first time in 1980, then found himself as a reserve in the 1981 All-Star Game soon after.

The Trade

While Ozzie was having problems with the Padre ownership, the St. Louis Cardinals also found themselves unhappy with their shortstop. On "Ladies Day" at Busch Stadium in 1981, Garry Templeton made obscene gestures at the home crowd before being pulled off the field by his manager, Whitey Herzog^[10]. Herzog, given the task of overhauling the Cardinals by owner Gussie Busch, was looking to trade Templeton when he was approached by Padre GM Jack McKeon at the 1981 baseball winter meetings. McKeon offered to trade Ozzie, and Herzog, surprised at the offer, reminded McKeon of what he said the last time Herzog inquired about Smith, saying "you said he was untouchable^[11]." But with the Padres' distaste for Smith's agent Gottlieb boiling, McKeon was now eager to deal.

With little haste, McKeon and Herzog put together a six-player trade, with Templeton for Smith as the centerpiece. While the deal was being negotiated, the Padres failed to bring Herzog's attention to a no-trade clause that had been included in Ozzie's 1981 contract. Upon learning of the trade, Ozzie's initial reaction was to invoke the clause and stay in San Diego, but was still interested to hear what the Cardinals had to say^[12]. While the deal for the other players beside Templeton and Smith went through, Herzog flew to San Diego to personally meet with Ozzie and Gottlieb over the Christmas holidays. Ozzie describes how the meeting went:

"Whitey told me that with me playing shortstop for the Cardinals, we could win the pennant. He made me feel wanted, which was a feeling I was quickly losing from the Padres. The mere fact that Whitey would come all the way out there to talk to us was more than enough to convince me that St. Louis was the place I wanted to be^[13]."

After some more behind-the-scenes wrangling, Ozzie Smith became a St. Louis Cardinal on February 11, 1982^[14].

The Cardinal Years

1982

The year 1982 marked the dawn of a new era for both Smith and the Cardinals. Herzog's newly assembled team roared off to a fast start with a 12-game win streak early in the season, and didn't relinquish first place the rest of year^[15]. So extraordinary was the style of play under Herzog's direction that it was soon termed "Whiteyball." No one exemplified this style of baseball more than Ozzie. With excellent speed on the basepaths, his Gold Glove worthy defense, and focusing on hitting line drives and ground balls at the plate, it's no wonder Ozzie fit perfectly into Herzog's team and strategy. In fact, Herzog later claimed that at his peak Smith saved 75 runs per year with his glove^[16].

Not wanting to rest on his defensive laurels though, Smith knew that to improve offensively, he would have to use his speed and hit the ball on the ground. Approaching Smith one day during spring training, Herzog said, "Every time you hit a fly ball, you own me a buck. Every time you hit a ground ball, I owe you a buck. We'll keep that going all year^[17]." The bet worked well, and Smith won close to $300 from Herzog during the season.

The '82 season was also notable for Smith on a more personal level. First, he became a father for the first time with the birth of his son O.J., today known as Nikko, on April 28 in San Diego. A month later when outfielder David Green tore a hamstring muscle in May, the Cards brought up prospect Willie McGee from their Triple-A affiliate in Louisville^[18]. Thrown together by their status as newcomers to the Cardinal organization during Spring Training 1982, Smith and McGee got to know each other fairly well. Once McGee joined the big league roster, the two developed an even closer rapport, and Smith likes to think he, "helped Willie get over some of the rough spots of adjusting to the major leagues^[19]." Smith and his wife Denise soon offered to let Willie stay at their home instead of a hotel, cementing a friendship that endures today.

Ozzie got his first taste of postseason action when the Cards took on the Atlanta Braves in the best-of-five 1982 NLCS. Making the most of the opportunity, Smith drove in the series' first run by hitting a sac fly that scored Willie McGee in Game 1, ultimately going five for nine over the course of the three game series sweep^[20].

Just as Whitey had predicted when he told Ozzie the Cards would win the pennant with him on the team, Ozzie found himself as the Cards' starting shortstop in the 1982 World Series.

Go crazy folks

The team reached the World Series again in 1985, thanks in large part to Smith's game-winning home run in the NLCS against Tom Niedenfuer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, made all the more remarkable because it was the first left-handed homer of his career. This homer was made famous for its radio call by broadcaster Jack Buck:

"Smith corks one into right, down the line! It may go...Go crazy folks, go crazy! It's a home run and the Cardinals have won the game, by the score of three to two, on a home run by the Wizard! Go crazy!^[21]"

They went on to lose the World Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games.

Ozzie's season and big hit in the NLCS are made all the more remarkable by a health issue that developed in 1985 and continued the rest of career, that of a torn rotator cuff. Smith rarely spoke of the injury during his career, opting to forgo surgery and instead built up the strength in his arm the natural way in the weight room, playing through whatever pain he encountered. Says Smith, "I think my greatest achievement was playing from 1985 until 1996 with a torn rotator cuff. You've read or heard I had surgery; I didn't. I just played. I made some adjustments, and I played through the pain^[22]."

The Pinnacle - 1987

Smith's greatest season came in 1987, when he had a .303 batting average, 43 stolen bases, 75 RBIs, 104 runs scored, and 40 doubles, good enough to earn him the Silver Slugger Award. He mostly batted second in the lineup; his plate discipline allowed him to post a career high on-base percentage of .392. This performance lifted the Cards into the playoffs, before ultimately falling short in Game 7 of the 1987 World Series. Smith ended up second in the MVP balloting to Andre Dawson, who had played on the last-placed Chicago Cubs, largely because he and teammate Jack Clark split the first-place vote. Following the 1987 season, Ozzie was awarded the largest contract in the National League at $2,340,000.^[23]

While the team wouldn't see the postseason the rest of the decade, Smith continued racking up All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves. Combined with the attention Smith received from his recent contract, Ozzie continued to be a national figure. Always known to be a savvy dresser, he received the ultimate recognition in that arena by making the April 1988 cover of GQ magazine^[24]. But with the passing of owner Gussie Busch in 1989, change was inevitably on the horizon, and not in a beneficial way for the Cardinals. Brewery executives now running the team were more concerned about the team's finances than investing in players, leading a frustrated Herzog to quit in 1990. Joe Torre took his turn at the Cards' helm next, but without adequate resources from ownership, postseason remained elusive for the first half of the 1990s.

While the Cardinals' celebrated their 100th anniversary in 1992, Smith marked some milestones of his own, stealing his 500th career base on April 26, 1992, then notching a triple on May 26 in front of the home crowd for his 2,000 hit^[25]. Also, as a testament to his national visibility during this time, Smith even appeared in an 1992 episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer at the Bat".

1996

As Smith entered the twilight of his career, he once again witnessed a complete reboot of the Cardinal franchise, as the task of restoring the Cardinals' winning tradition was given to new manager Tony LaRussa.

At a Busch Stadium press conference on June 19, 1996, Ozzie Smith announced his retirement from Major League Baseball, effective at season's end^[26]. This extra motivation to win for Ozzie help propel the team to their first postseason birth since the aforementioned 1987 season.

After surprising the entire baseball world by going up three games to one on the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 NLCS, the Cards couldn't get the extra win to put themselves into the World Series. After Game 7 in Atlanta had turned into a blowout, Ozzie pinch-hit in the sixth inning, marking the end to his Hall-of-Fame career^[27].

Smith is remembered for his acrobatics in the field as a versatile shortstop and for the ritual backflip he performed before opening days, All-Star Games, and postseason games. Though he dropped this routine late in his career, he reprised it for "Ozzie Day" on September 28, 1996, when the Cardinals honored his impending retirement with a ceremony before the game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Smith holds the record for the most assists by a major league shortstop with 621. He also holds the record for the most at-bats without hitting a grand slam.

Post-baseball

Upon retirement, Smith took over for Mel Allen as the host of the long-running TV series This Week in Baseball in 1997^[28]. After that ended, Smith moved on to do work for CNN-SI^[29]. Plus, Smith still was receiving accolades even after his playing days. For instance, in 1999 he ranked Number 87 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Then in 2003 he was given the additional honor of induction into the St. Louis Walk of Fame^[30].

Of course, no post-career honor could top Smith's call to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002, becoming a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, named on 433 of the 472 ballots cast.^[31][32]

Sadly, Smith has refused to associate himself with the Cardinals in any official capacity since retirement, although he continues to make public appearances embracing the franchise. Smith has stated that he will not work with the organization as long as the current management is in charge. Smith has said he is still upset at current Cardinal manager Tony La Russa for making newly acquired Royce Clayton the starting shortstop in 1996, despite a superior offensive performance by Smith in spring training. The Cardinals had traded for Clayton during the previous offseason as a precautionary move in case Smith did not fully recover from an earlier injury. Smith's playing time shrank under La Russa's management despite his continuing to outhit Clayton throughout the 1996 regular season, and he retired at season's end. ^[33]

More recently, Ozzie had the chance to cheer on his son Nikko as he cracked the top ten finalists of the 2005 edition of American Idol^[34].

See also

• List of major league players with 2,000 hits
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
• List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
• List of Major League Baseball players with 500 stolen bases
• List of Major League Baseball players with 400 stolen bases

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
• baseballhalloffame.org – Hall of Fame biography page
• St. Louis Walk of Fame

Accomplishments
Preceded by Steve Garvey National League Championship Series MVP 1985 Succeeded by Mike Scott Preceded by Dave Concepción NL Shortstop Gold Glove Winner 1980 - 1992 Succeeded by Jay Bell Preceded by Buddy Bell Lou Gehrig Memorial Award 1989 Succeeded by Glenn Davis

St. Louis Cardinals 1982 World Series roster

1 Ozzie Smith | 5 Mike Ramsey | 10 Ken Oberkfell | 11 Glenn Brummer | 15 Darrell Porter | 18 Gene Tenace | 19 Dane Iorg | 22 David Green | 25 George Hendrick | 26 Steve Braun | 27 Lonnie Smith | 28 Tom Herr | 31 Bob Forsch | 32 Jeff Lahti | 36 Jim Kaat | 37 Keith Hernandez | 39 Dave LaPoint | 40 Doug Bair | 42 Bruce Sutter | 47 Joaquín Andújar | 48 John Stuper | 51 Willie McGee Manager Whitey Herzog

Donate to Wikimedia