Why Not Lee Smith In Hall?

The guy admits it. He is confused, he is baffled (his words) about why he is not in the Hall of Fame. So am I. If Bruce Sutter and Goose Gossage are in the Hall of Fame, then Lee Smith should be. Maybe even more so.

Those whose careers played out primarily as relief pitchers have flummoxed Hall voters for years. Their roles and numbers are different than starters, so while it may be commonplace to compare a 1915 starter with a 1970s starter, it is useless to compare relievers who threw before the 1970s with the modern era. So Lee Smith has resided in purgatory.

The Baseball Writers Association of America should remedy this situation right now as they turn in their ballots by Dec. 31 for the 2012 Hall of Fame class.

Smith pitched in the majors between 1980 and 1997. He appeared in 1,022 games and he led either the National League or American League in saves four times. He was a seven-time All-Star. But most notably he retired as the all-time leader in saves with 478 and until Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera accumulated enough saves over the last couple of seasons Smith held that record. Hoffman caught Smith first in 2006. Smith still has the Cubs team record for saves with 180.

Since when is a player who is the statistical best at some aspect of the game shut out of the Hall of Fame?

Smith was known for his 95 mph fastball and his intimidating scowl. He had the size at 6-foot-6 and 265 pounds to back up the look, as well. In essence, he was the Bob Gibson of short relief. Nobody wanted to dig in at the plate on Smith.

Born in Louisiana in 1957, Smith was signed by the Chicago Cubs when he was 17. He broke into the majors with Chicago in 1980 and remained with the Cubs until 1987 and threw for the Cardinals between 1990 and 1993. He also pitched for the Red Sox, Yankees, Orioles, Angles, Reds and Expos, most for one-year stints after his stay with the Cardinals.

Scouted by Buck O’Neil and tutored by Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins, who remains a friend, Smith learned more sophisticated throwing techniques and approaches to hitters while adding a slider and forkball to his repertoire. The Cubs originally envisioned Smith as a starting pitcher, but converted him to the bullpen early in his career.

For the most part bullpen closers have not enjoyed long-term success, but Smith recorded 13 seasons of at least 25 saves, three seasons of between 43 and 47, and six more seasons of at least 31 saves. Although Smith seems most closely identified with the Cubs, all three of his biggest save total years were recorded with St. Louis. In 1991, the year he notched 47 saves, Smith was runnerup for the National League Cy Young Award.

For most of Smith’s career he averaged better than a strikeout per inning, only falling below that average in the final years of his career. He threw 1,289 1/3 innings and stuck out 1,251 men. Smith owns the Major League record (a somewhat quirky statistic) with 802 games finished.

Smith’s name has been on the Hall of Fame ballot since five years after his 1997 retirement and he generally polls around 40 percent of the vote when 75 percent is needed for election. It’s hard to believe he has not done better. Voters need to remember the saves. He has 478 saves. Big number. Really big number.

Be sure to check out Lew’s other Hall of Fame profiles.