Greg Smith (infielder)

Infobox MLB retired
name = Greg Smith
position = Infielder
birthdate = birth date and age|1967|4|5
deathdate =
bats =Both
throws = Right
debutdate =September 2
debutyear =1989
debutteam =Chicago Cubs
finaldate =May 24
finalyear =1991
finalteam =Los Angeles Dodgers
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value =.212
stat2label =Home runs
stat2value =0
stat3label =Runs batted in
stat3value =7
teams =
* Chicago Cubs (1989-1990)
* Los Angeles Dodgers (1991)
highlights =

Gregory Alan Smith (born April 5, 1967, in Baltimore, Maryland) was a Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1989 through 1991.

Early life and education

Smith graduated from Glenelg High School in Howard County, Maryland in 1985. [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/S/Greg-Smith.shtml Greg Smith Statistics - The Baseball Cube ] ]

Baseball career

A switch-hitter, Smith was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1985 MLB amateur draft. He was signed on June 10, 1985. [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithgr01.shtml Greg Smith Statistics - Baseball-Reference.com ] ]

In his first season in the minor leagues, Smith played shortstop in 51 games for the Cubs' Wytheville minor league team, hitting .235. In 1986, he was promoted to the Cubs' Peoria A-level minor league team, where Smith played shortstop and second base and hit .253 in 53 games. Smith returned to Peoria the following year, where he hit .270 in 124 games and again played shortstop and second base.

In 1988, Smith played second base and hit .280 in 95 games for the Cubs Winston-Salem minor league team.

In 1989, Smith played for the Cubs' AA Charlotte minor-league team, hitting .296 in 126 games. The Cubs promoted Smith to the major leagues in September 1989, and Smith made his Major League Baseball debut on September 2, 1989. Smith played in four games in September 1989, going two for five.

In 1990, the Cubs invited Smith to their training camp as a nonroster player. He made the club in April and hit .205 in 18 games, playing both shortstop and second base. After making three errors in nine games, the Cubs announced on April 30, 1990, that Smith was being sent down to the minors, where he hit .291 in 105 games for the Cubs AAA Iowa minor league team. On September 4, 1990, Smith was called back up to the Cubs for the remainder of the 1990 season, along with Dave Pavlas and Derrick May.

On December 14, 1990, the Cubs traded Smith to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Jose Vizcaino. "He is hard-nosed, he is a battler, he runs well...everybody we talk to likes him a lot," the Dodgers' executive Fred Claire told the Chicago Tribune immediately after the trade, in an article that appeared in the Tribune on December 15, 1990.

Smith started the 1991 season with the Dodgers, at a salary of $125,000. However, he was little used (mostly in pinch-running capacities), and was sent down to the Dodgers' AAA Albuquerque minor league team on April 8, 1991. He was recalled to the Dodgers in mid-May 1991 to replace injured utility infielder Mike Sharperson, and was sent down again on May 24, 1991. His final major-league game was on that day, May 24, 1991.

The rest of the 1991 season was a disappointment for Smith in the minors. He missed some playing time with an injured right thumb, and wound up hitting just .217 in 48 games at Albuquerque.

On March 24, 1992, the Dodgers waived Smith. He refused an assignment to Albuquerque and instead became a free agent. He wound up signing with the Detroit Tigers organization, and played in 1992 for the Tigers' Toledo Mud Hens AAA minor league team. With Toledo, Smith hit .234 in 128 games.

He returned to the Chicago Cubs organization in 1993, hitting .282 in 131 games for the AAA Iowa Cubs minor league team. However, the Chicago Cubs declined to promote him to the major-league roster.

In 1994, Smith joined the Milwaukee Brewers organization, spending the entire season playing shortstop and second base for the team's AAA New Orleans Zephyrs minor league team, hitting .231 in 115 games.

Replacement player controversy

Smith became part of some controversy in 1995 when he agreed to be a replacement player for the Brewers during the baseball strike. However, once the 1995 season finally started, Smith started the season with the Brewers' AAA New Orleans minor league club, where he hit .212 in 59 games. On June 29, 1995, however, Smith was traded by the Brewers organization to the Baltimore Orioles organization for pitcher Frank Seminara. Later in the season, Smith caught on with the Baltimore Orioles' AAA Rochester Red Wings minor league club. However, in August 1995, the Orioles chose to waive another former replacement player, Jimmy Hurst, rather than promote him to the major-league club, largely because of a hard-line stance toward replacement players that had been taken by Orioles owner Peter Angelos. On August 26, 1995, Smith cleaned out his locker and quit the Red Wings. The Orioles organization formally released Smith on August 28, 1995.

References

External links

* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/s/smithgr01.shtml Greg Smith at "Baseball Reference.com"]