Peter John Smith (born February 27, 1966) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, born in

Abington, Massachusetts Abington is a New England town, town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, southeast of Boston. The population was 17,062 at the 2020 census. History Before the Europeans made their claim to the area, the local Native Americans r ...

. He was drafted by 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 ...

in the first round (21st overall pick) in the

1984 Major League Baseball draft The 1984 Major League Baseball draft took place in June 1984. The draft saw the New York Mets select Shawn Abner first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1984 Major League Baseball draft. Other n ...

. Smith was signed on June 14, 1984, to play in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He batted and threw right-handed during his

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 ...

career.

Early life

Smith graduated from Burlington High School in 1984 where he pitched two

no-hitters 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 ...

in his senior year.

Career

The Philadelphia Phillies traded Smith to the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

, along with

Ozzie Virgil, Jr. Osvaldo José Virgil Jr. (born December 7, 1956) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher who played with the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves and Toronto Blue Jays from 1980 to 1990. His father, Ozzie Sr., was a Major League ...

, for

Steve Bedrosian Stephen Wayne Bedrosian (born December 6, 1957), nicknamed "Bedrock", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves. He also played for the Philadelphia ...

and Milt Thompson. Smith made his major league debut on September 8, 1987 with the Atlanta Braves at age 21. In , Smith pitched 3

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( 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 basketball. Shutouts are usually seen as a result of ...

, the season after his rookie year. The Atlanta Braves hoped Smith would develop into an ace pitcher as

John Smoltz John Andrew Smoltz (born May 15, 1967), nicknamed "Smoltzie" and "Marmaduke", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 2009, all but the last year with the Atlanta Braves. An eight-time Ma ...

and

Tom Glavine Thomas Michael Glavine (born March 25, 1966) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball, for the Atlanta Braves (1987–2002, 2008) and New York Mets (2003–2007). With 164 victories durin ...

were developing to be. But in , Smith's

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

was at 4.75 at the end of the season, higher than his ERA in 1988 when it was at 3.69. On a recent radio show, former Brave

Mark Lemke Mark Alan Lemke (born August 13, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball player and current broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Lemmer", he was a popular second baseman for the Atlanta Braves from to . He won the 1995 World Series with the B ...

said he thought Smith's down year could be attributed to injuries the pitcher hid from the team and media. He played the 1987 through seasons with the Atlanta Braves before being traded to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

for

Dave Gallagher David Thomas Gallagher (born September 20, 1960) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams from –. Early life Gallagher was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and grew up in t ...

. With the New York Mets, Smith only played the season before being granted

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on October 25 of that year. On December 1, 1994, Smith was signed as a free agent with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. He played with the Cincinnati Reds for only half of the season before being released on June 27, signing with the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

on July 1. After spending the rest of 1995 in the minors, Smith became a free agent again, signing with 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. ...

on December 23. Smith played with San Diego's

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

farm club, the Las Vegas Stars, but returned to the majors in 1997, playing the next season and a half with the Padres. On May 31, 1997, Smith picked up his one and only MLB save during a Padres 12-5 victory over the Astros. On June 9, 1998, Smith was traded to the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

organization for minor leaguer Eric Estes. He played his final game on September 24, 1998. He earned a career ERA of 4.55,

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

640 batters. Smith also pitched 4 shutouts throughout his major league career.

References

External links

* , o
Baseball Almanac
o

o
The Ultimate Mets Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Pete Major League Baseball pitchers Atlanta Braves players New York Mets players Cincinnati Reds players San Diego Padres players Baltimore Orioles players 1966 births Living people People from Abington, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Burlington, Massachusetts Florida Complex League Phillies players Clearwater Phillies players Greenville Braves players Macon Braves players Richmond Braves players Charlotte Knights players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Memphis Redbirds players Baseball players from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Baseball players from Plymouth County, Massachusetts 20th-century American sportsmen