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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

Minor leagues

In 2000, Smith led the minor league Cardinal organization with a 2.26 ERA (among starters) and 17 wins (five with AAA Memphis and 12 with AA

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

) 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 In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

. 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

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

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s. He made 27 appearances with 24 starts, with the no-hitter being his only

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

. On July 29, 2002, he was traded to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

along with

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

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 ...

and

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

Scott Rolen,

Doug Nickle and cash. Smith never made a major league appearance for the Phillies, and on October 15, 2004, was granted free agency. He later signed with the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

on December 14, 2004.

Post-major league career

Smith was most recently a member of the Long Beach Armada of the independent Golden Baseball League 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