Robert Allan "Bud" Smith (born October 23, 1979) is an American retired

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Smith was active at the major league level in 2001 and 2002, playing for the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

Minor leagues

In 2000, Smith led the minor league Cardinal organization with a 2.26 ERA (among starters) and 17 wins (5 with AAA Memphis and 12 with AA Arkansas) and threw two no-hitters of the seven-inning variety against Midland and San Antonio. His 2000-year performance earned him Baseball Weekly's Minor League Pitcher of the Year award.

No-hitter and major league career

Smith's major league career was short but notable, as he became the 18th rookie since 1900 to throw a no-hitter. Smith's Cardinals defeated the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

4–0 on September 3, 2001, with the rookie hurler giving up four walks but no hits, while throwing 134 pitches in the game. Due to Smith's high

pitch count In baseball statistics, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a pitcher in a game. Pitch counts are especially a concern for young pitchers, pitchers recovering from injury, or pitchers who have a history of injuries. The pitcher wants ...

entering the later innings, Cardinal pitching coach Dave Duncan was actually hoping someone would break up the no-hitter, fearing that his young pitcher might tire, although he went against that judgment in allowing Smith to finish the game. , Smith's is the most recent no-hitter by a Cardinals' pitcher. Smith had an impressive rookie season in 2001, compiling a 6–3 record and 3.83

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

in 16 games, good for fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. However, after posting a dreadful 6.94 era in his sophomore season, he never pitched at the major league level again. Smith has the distinction of being the last member of the Cardinals to wear the number 51. In his major league debut, he donned the number associated with retired fan favorite Willie McGee, upsetting many fans. Shortly thereafter, Smith agreed to change his number to 52 and no one has used 51 since. For his career, Smith was 7–8 with a 4.95

in 132.7 innings. He made 27 appearances with 24 starts, with the no-hitter being his only complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. On July 29, 2002, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with infielder

Plácido Polanco Plácido Enrique Polanco (; born October 10, 1975) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers and Miami Marlins. He was a ...

and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

Mike Timlin for

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Scott Rolen Scott Bruce Rolen (born April 4, 1975) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Toronto Blue Jays and Cincinnati Reds. He was an eight-t ...

Doug Nickle and cash. Smith never made a major league appearance for the Phillies, and on October 15, 2004, was granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is ...

. He later signed with the Minnesota Twins on December 14, 2004.

Post-major league career

Smith was most recently a member of the

Long Beach Armada The Long Beach Armada were an independent professional baseball team based in Long Beach, California, in the United States. The Armada was a member of the North Division of the now-defunct Golden Baseball League (GBL), which was not affiliated wi ...

of the independent

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

in until retiring from baseball.

References

External links

''Rookie Smith pitches improbable no-hitter''
:
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bud 1979 births Living people Baseball players from Torrance, California Long Beach Armada players Los Angeles Harbor Seahawks baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Toronto Blue Jays scouts

Minor leagues

No-hitter and major league career

Post-major league career

See also

References

External links