Call to the pen
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Examining Hall of Fame case for Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers legend Reggie Smith

By Noah Yingling

LOS ANGELES, CA - 1989: Reggie Smith #2 of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes batting practice before a game at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - 1989: Reggie Smith #2 of the Los Angeles Dodgers takes batting practice before a game at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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Reggie Smith, Baseball Hall of Fame, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers
DENVER, COLORADO – JULY 13: National League honorary manager Reggie Smith walks to the pitcher’s mound to make a pitching change during the 91st MLB All-Star Game at Coors Field on July 13, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /

Of all-time primary right fielders, here are the players before and after Reggie Smith in rWAR. Bold indicates that the player is a Hall of Famer.

10. Reggie Jackson, 73.9 WAR, 21 seasons

11. Larry Walker, 72.7 WAR, 17

12. Harry Heilmann, 72.5 WAR, 17

13. Tony Gwynn, 69.2 WAR, 20

14. Dwight Evans, 67.1 WAR, 20 (we looked at his Hall of Fame case earlier this week)

15. Reggie Smith, 64.6 WAR, 17

16. Dave Winfield, 64.2 WAR, 20

17. “Shoeless” Joe Jackson, 62.2 WAR, 13

18. Gary Sheffield, 60.5 WAR, 22

19. Bobby Abreu, 60.2 WAR, 18

20. Ichiro, 60.0 WAR, 19

21. Vladimir Guerrero, Sr., 59.5 WAR, 16

Sheffield and Abreu are both still on the ballot (Sheffield has PEDs holding his case back, though) and Ichiro will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer when he is eligible.

When you look at JAWS (which averages WAR with WAR7, or the WAR of a player in their seven best seasons), Smith is 17th all-time at 51.6. Ichiro is 16th at 51.9 and behind directly behind Smith in order is Sammy Sosa, HOFer Dave Winfield, Abreu, and Guerrero.

Smith’s career 137 OPS+ also put him in some very elite company as well among right fielders. Here is a sample of some of the primary right fielders above and below Smith. Bold indicates a Hall of Famer and italics indicates an active player.

  • Larry Walker, 141 OPS+
  • Vladimir Guerrero, Sr., 140
  • Gary Sheffield, 140
  • Reggie Jackson, 139 
  • Ronald Acuña, Jr., 138
  • Reggie Smith, 137
  • Shohei Ohtani, 137
  • Al Kaline, 134
  • Mookie Betts, 134
  • Tony Gwynn, 132
  • Tony Oliva, 131
  • Roberto Clemente, 130
  • Dave Winfield, 130
  • Enos Slaughter, 124
  • Harold Baines, 121

Smith was also a great fielder. When you look at Total Zone Runs (TZ or Rtot) which is the predecessor to Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), he had 78 TZ in his career, for an average of 4.5 per season in the majors.

For comparison, one of the best defensive outfielders of the last quarter-century (Jim Edmonds) has 80 TZ in his career, which was 17 seasons, just like Smith. Edmonds won eight Gold Gloves but Smith just won one of them.

Despite all of this, Smith got three votes on the BBWAA ballot in 1988. Since he got 0.7 percent of the vote, Smith was on the ballot once and fell off.

Next. The HOF case for Red Sox legend Dwight Evans. dark

Hopefully, the Modern Baseball Era Committee for the Hall of Fame will consider Smith on their next ballot, which will be for the Class of 2024. However, he has not been on their ballot so it will be very difficult for him to get in.

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