Lee Smith Stats

Lee Smith was born on Wednesday, December 4, 1957, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Smith was 22 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 1, 1980, with the Chicago Cubs. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Lee Smith baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Someday, probably after he's been retired, baseball will finally figure it out. Lee Smith was a wise, philosophical fisherman with reasonable work habits who was surrounded by bustling, silly bosses who, without knowing it, were bent on using him up, and discarding him." - Diamond Dreams: Thirty Years of Baseball Through the Lens of Walter Looss (Walter Iooss, Thomas Boswell, September 1995)

Lee Smith

Lee Smith Autograph on a 1985 Donruss Baseball Card (#311)

Lee Smith Autograph on a 1985 Donruss Baseball Card (#311)

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Birth Name:   Lee Arthur Smith
Nickname:   Big Lee or Lee Arthur
Born On:   12-04-1957  (Sagittarius)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Shreveport, Louisiana
Year of Death Data Died On:   Still Living (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Still Living
Cemetery:   n/a
High School:   Castor High School (Castor, LA)
College:   Northwestern State University of Louisiana (DNP)
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Right   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-06   Player Weight Chart Weight:   225
First Game:   09-01-1980 (Age 22)
Last Game:   07-02-1997
Draft:   1975 : 2nd Round (28th) / Signing Bonus = $50,000

Lee Smith

Lee Smith Pitching Stats

1980 23 Cubs 18 0 6 2 0 1.000 2.91 0 0 0 21.2 97 21 7 9 0 14 5 17 0 0 0 -
1981 24 Cubs 40 1 12 3 6 .333 3.51 0 0 1 66.2 280 57 26 31 2 31 8 50 7 1 1 -
1982 25 Cubs 72 5 38 2 5 .286 2.69 0 0 17 117.0 480 105 35 38 5 37 5 99 6 3 1 -
1983 26 Cubs 66 0 56 4 10 .286 1.65 0 0 29 103.1 413 70 19 23 5 41 14 91 5 1 2 -
1984 27 Cubs 69 0 59 9 7 .563 3.65 0 0 33 101.0 428 98 41 42 6 35 7 86 6 0 0 -
1985 28 Cubs 65 0 57 7 4 .636 3.04 0 0 33 97.2 397 87 33 35 9 32 6 112 4 1 0 -
1986 29 Cubs 66 0 59 9 9 .500 3.09 0 0 31 90.1 372 69 31 32 7 42 11 93 2 0 0 -
1987 30 Cubs 62 0 55 4 10 .286 3.12 0 0 36 83.2 360 84 29 30 4 32 5 96 4 0 0 -
1988 31 Red Sox 64 0 57 4 5 .444 2.80 0 0 29 83.2 363 72 26 34 7 37 6 96 2 1 0 -
1989 32 Red Sox 64 0 50 6 1 .857 3.57 0 0 25 70.2 290 53 28 30 6 33 6 96 1 0 0 -
1990 33 Red Sox 11 0 8 2 1 .667 1.88 0 0 4 14.1 64 13 3 4 0 9 2 17 1 0 0 -
1990 33 Cardinals 53 0 45 3 4 .429 2.10 0 0 27 68.2 280 58 16 20 3 20 5 70 1 0 0 -
1991 34 Cardinals 67 0 61 6 3 .667 2.34 0 0 47 73.0 300 70 19 19 5 13 5 67 1 0 0 -
1992 35 Cardinals 70 0 55 4 9 .308 3.12 0 0 43 75.0 310 62 26 28 4 26 4 60 2 0 0 -
1993 36 Cardinals 55 0 48 2 4 .333 4.50 0 0 43 50.0 206 49 25 25 11 9 1 49 1 0 0 -
1993 36 Yankees 8 0 8 0 0 .000 0.00 0 0 3 8.0 33 4 0 0 0 5 1 11 0 0 0 -
1994 37 Orioles 41 0 39 1 4 .200 3.29 0 0 33 38.1 160 34 14 16 6 11 1 42 0 0 0 -
1995 38 Angels 52 0 51 0 5 .000 3.47 0 0 37 49.1 209 42 19 19 3 25 4 43 1 1 0 -
1996 39 Angels 11 0 8 0 0 .000 2.45 0 0 0 11.0 44 8 3 4 0 3 0 6 1 0 0 -
1996 39 Reds 43 0 16 3 4 .429 4.06 0 0 2 44.1 201 49 20 20 4 23 4 35 2 1 0 -
1997 40 Expos 25 0 14 0 1 .000 5.82 0 0 5 21.2 100 28 14 16 2 8 0 15 0 1 0 -
18 Years 1,022 6 802 71 92 .436 3.03 0 0 478 1,289.1 5,387 1,133 434 475 89 486 100 1,251 47 10 4 -

Lee Smith

Lee Smith Hitting Stats

1980 23 Cubs 18 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1981 24 Cubs 40 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1982 25 Cubs 72 16 2 1 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 9 1 0 0 0 .063 .118 .250
1983 26 Cubs 66 9 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 1 0 0 0 .111 .200 .111
1984 27 Cubs 69 13 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 8 1 0 0 0 .077 .077 .077
1985 28 Cubs 65 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .143 .000
1986 29 Cubs 66 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1987 30 Cubs 62 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1988 31 Red Sox 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1989 32 Red Sox 64 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1990 33 Red Sox 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1990 33 Cardinals 53 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1991 34 Cardinals 67 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1992 35 Cardinals 70 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1993 36 Cardinals 55 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1993 36 Yankees 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1994 37 Orioles 41 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1995 38 Angels 52 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1996 39 Angels 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1996 39 Reds 43 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
1997 40 Expos 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
18 Years 1,022 64 2 3 0 0 1 0 2 3 0 42 4 0 0 0 .047 .090 .094

Lee Smith

Lee Smith Fielding Stats

1980 Cubs P 18 0 65 3 0.2 3 0 3 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.25
1981 Cubs P 40 1 200 12 0.3 12 3 9 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.62
1982 Cubs P 72 5 351 20 0.3 19 9 10 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .950 1.46
1983 Cubs P 66 0 310 17 0.3 17 8 9 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.48
1984 Cubs P 69 0 303 19 0.3 19 6 13 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.69
1985 Cubs P 65 0 293 12 0.2 12 3 9 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.11
1986 Cubs P 66 0 271 13 0.2 13 1 12 0 2 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.30
1987 Cubs P 62 0 251 11 0.2 11 3 8 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.18
1988 Red Sox P 64 0 251 10 0.2 9 5 4 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .900 0.97
1989 Red Sox P 64 0 212 2 0.0 2 1 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.25
1990 Red Sox P 11 0 43 2 0.2 2 0 2 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.26
1990 Cardinals P 53 0 206 3 0.1 3 2 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.39
1991 Cardinals P 67 0 219 9 0.1 9 3 6 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.11
1992 Cardinals P 70 0 225 9 0.1 8 1 7 1 1 n/a n/a n/a .889 0.96
1993 Cardinals P 55 0 150 1 0.0 1 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.18
1993 Yankees P 8 0 24 1 0.1 1 0 1 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.13
1994 Orioles P 41 0 115 5 0.1 4 2 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .800 0.94
1995 Angels P 52 0 148 5 0.1 5 1 4 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.91
1996 Angels P 11 0 33 1 0.1 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.82
1996 Reds P 43 0 133 7 0.2 7 2 5 0 1 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.42
1997 Expos P 25 0 65 5 0.2 5 1 4 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.08
P Totals 1,022 6 3,868 167 0.2 163 52 111 4 9 n/a n/a n/a .976 1.14
18 Years 1,022 6 3,868 167 0.2 163 52 111 4 9 n/a n/a n/a .976 1.14

Lee Smith

Lee Smith Miscellaneous Stats

1980 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.21 7.06 5.82
1981 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.3 0.0 1.61 6.75 4.18
1982 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 16.0 1.8 16.0 2.68 7.62 2.85
1983 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.8 0.0 2.22 7.93 3.57
1984 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.6 13.0 2.46 7.66 3.12
1985 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.2 0.0 3.50 10.32 2.95
1986 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 1.0 0.0 2.21 9.27 4.18
1987 Cubs 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.0 0.0 3.00 10.33 3.44
1988 Red Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.59 10.33 3.98
1989 Red Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.91 12.23 4.20
1990 Red Sox 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.89 10.67 5.65
1990 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.0 0.0 3.50 9.17 2.62
1991 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.15 8.26 1.60
1992 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.31 7.20 3.12
1993 Cardinals 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.0 0.0 5.44 8.82 1.62
1993 Yankees 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.20 12.38 5.63
1994 Orioles 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.82 9.86 2.58
1995 Angels 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.72 7.84 4.56
1996 Angels 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.00 4.91 2.45
1996 Reds 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.52 7.11 4.67
1997 Expos 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.88 6.23 3.32
18 Years 0 0 .000 0 0 0 64.0 1.5 32.0 2.57 8.73 3.39

Lee Smith

Lee Smith Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1980 Chicago Cubs 46 $30,000.00 - -
1981 Chicago Cubs 46 $32,500.00 - -
1982 Chicago Cubs 46 $33,500.00 - -
1983 Chicago Cubs 46 $125,000.00 Stats -
1984 Chicago Cubs 46 $250,000.00 - -
1985 Chicago Cubs 46 $670,000.00 - -
1986 Chicago Cubs 46 $720,000.00 - -
1987 Chicago Cubs 46 $840,000.00 Stats -
1988 Boston Red Sox 48 $850,000.00 - -
1989 Boston Red Sox 48 $1,425,000.00 - -
1990 Boston Red Sox 48 $1,200,000.00 - -
1990 St. Louis Cardinals 47 "     "     - -
1991 St. Louis Cardinals 47 $2,791,666.00 Stats -
1992 St. Louis Cardinals 47 $2,791,667.00 Stats -
1993 St. Louis Cardinals 47 $2,691,667.00 Stats -
1993 New York Yankees 47 "     "     Stats -
1994 Baltimore Orioles 47 $2,025,000.00 Stats n/a
1995 California Angels 47 $2,561,113.00 Stats -
1996 California Angels 47 $2,100,000.00 - -
1996 Cincinnati Reds 47 "     "     - -
1997 Montreal Expos 49 $400,000.00 - -

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Lee Arthur Smith was a Major League Baseball player with the Chicago Cubs (1980-1987), Boston Red Sox (1988-1990), St. Louis Cardinals (1990-1993), New York Yankees (1993), Baltimore Orioles (1994), California Angels (1995-1996), Cincinnati Reds (1996), and Montreal Expos (1997). On September 17, 1993, Smith recorded his four-hundredth career save becoming the first pitcher in baseball history to reach 400 saves!

Lee Smith Rookie Card | Baseball Almanac

Lee Smith Rookie Card | 1982 Topps Baseball Card (#452)
Baseball Almanac Research Library

Did you know that Lee Smith held the Major League record for most saves in a career for thirteen (1993-2006) years? Join Baseball Almanac as we take a look at some other numbers of interest in respect to one of the most dominant closers in baseball history:

47 – Lee Smith saved forty-seven games with the 1991 St. Louis Cardinals, setting a new National League record (since broken) for saves in a season.

160 – Lee Smith saved one-hundred sixty games with the St. Louis Cardinals, the most in franchise history at the time of his retirement.

180 – Lee Smith saved one-hundred eighty games with the Chicago Cubs, the most in franchise history at the time of his retirement.

234 – Lee Smith did not save a game in 1980, saved only 1 game in 1981, yet finished the decade (1980-1989) with two-hundred thirty four saves, the second most by any pitcher during that era. Do you know who had more? [Answer]

546 – Lee Smith committed an error on June 30, 1982, then, across the next five-hundred forty-six games, he had a perfect fielding percentage, setting a National League record for consecutive errorless games by pitcher, broken by Heath Bell in 2023.

802 – Lee Smith retired mid-way through the 1997 season, recording a total of eight-hundred two games finished, the most in baseball history at the time of his retirement.

Lee Smith Hall of Fame Plaque | Baseball Almanac

Lee Smith | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 2019 (HOF)

Despite being one of the most dominant closers in baseball history, and one of the most consistent relief pitchers in baseball history, the Baseball Writers' Association of America did not send Lee Smith to Cooperstown. He appeared on the ballot from 2003 through 2017, received a high total of 50.6% in 2012, but was not elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame until the Today's Game Committee unanimously (16 of 16 votes) inducted him on December 9, 2018.