Seth Smith
| Seth Smith | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Oakland Athletics – No. 15 | |
| Outfielder | |
| Born: September 30, 1982 Jackson, Mississippi |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| MLB debut | |
| September 16, 2007 for the Colorado Rockies | |
| Career statistics (through 2011 Season) |
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| Batting average | .275 |
| Home runs | 51 |
| Runs batted in | 181 |
| Teams | |
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| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | ||
Competitor for  United States |
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| Pan American Games | ||
| Silver | Santo Domingo 2003 | Baseball at the 2003 Pan American Games |
Garry Seth Smith (born September 30, 1982, in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball.
Contents |
[edit] Amateur career
Smith played right field for The University of Mississippi from 2002–2004, and was also the backup quarterback on the football team at Mississippi. During his freshman year, Smith hit .402 and was named a Freshman All-American. Smith also played for the USA National Team in the Pan-Am games while at Ole Miss.
[edit] Professional career
[edit] 2007
Smith made his Major League Baseball debut with the Colorado Rockies on September 16, 2007, in a 13–0 home win over the Florida Marlins.[1][2] He did not record a hit in two total at bats during the game. He got his first hit, an infield single, on September 21, 2007, in a 2–1 extra-innings road win over the San Diego Padres.[1][3] His hit came off of Doug Brocail in the top of the 12th inning. Smith played in seven games during the regular season, racking up five hits in eight at bats.
Smith's successful stint during the regular season earned him a spot on the Rockies' 2007 postseason roster. In the 2007 National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, Smith had one pinch hit in two at bats. His lone hit came in the second game of the series in a 10–5 win against the Phillies. It was an infield hit in the top of the fourth inning that loaded the bases with the Rockies down, 3–2. The next batter, Colorado second baseman Kazuo Matsui, went on to hit a memorable grand slam to give the Rockies a lead that they would never relinquish. Colorado went on to sweep the Phillies in three games and then went on to sweep the Arizona Diamondbacks in four games in the 2007 National League Championship Series. Once again, Smith had one pinch hit in two at bats. The one hit was in the fourth game of the series in a 6–4 series-clinching win against the Diamondbacks. This time, Smith hit a double that came with two outs and two runners in scoring position in the bottom of the fourth inning with the Rockies down, 1–0. The double drove in both runners to give Colorado a 2–1 lead. Smith then went on to score during the inning after a Matsui single. Colorado left fielder Matt Holliday also hit a three-run home run in the fourth inning to cap off a six-run fourth inning, all with two outs.
Smith struck out with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to end the 2007 World Series to the Boston Red Sox, but did very well in the postseason otherwise, hitting above .500.
[edit] 2008
Smith hit his first career home run, a three-run shot, on May 25, 2008, in a 4–1 home win over the New York Mets.[4] He hit the home run off of John Maine in the bottom of the fourth inning. Smith also hit his first career inside the park home run this season, which was the eighth in Colorado Rockies history.
[edit] 2012
On January 15, 2012, Smith signed a one-year contract to avoid arbitration.[5] Smith earned $2.415 million.[6]
On January 16, 2012, Smith was traded to the Oakland Athletics for Guillermo Moscoso and Josh Outman.[7]
[edit] Personal life
Smith was the backup quarterback to Eli Manning at the University of Mississippi. Coincidentally, Smith's Rockies teammate, Todd Helton, was the starting quarterback for the University of Tennessee until a knee injury resulted in Manning's older brother Peyton succeeding him. Furthermore, current Duke Head Football Coach David Cutcliffe was Helton's quarterback coach at Tennessee and Smith's head coach at Ole Miss.[8]
Smith's batting song is Manifesto by The City Harmonic.
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Official Site of The Colorado Rockies: Team: Player Information : Biography and Career Highlights
- ^ ESPN – Marlins vs. Rockies – Recap – September 16, 2007
- ^ ESPN – Rockies vs. Padres – Recap – September 21, 2007
- ^ ESPN – Mets vs. Rockies – Recap – May 25, 2008
- ^ Rockies Press Release (January 15, 2012). "Rockies and Seth Smith avoid arbitration by agreeing to one-year deal". ColoradoRockies.com. http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120115&content_id=26355194&vkey=pr_col&c_id=col.
- ^ Mennella, Dan (January 15, 2012). "Rockies, Seth Smith Avoid Arbitration". MLBTradeRumors.com. http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2012/01/rockies-seth-smith-avoid-arbitration.html.
- ^ Rockies Press Release (January 16, 2012). "Rockies acquire RHP Guillermo Moscoso and LHP Josh Outman from Oakland in exchange for OF Seth Smith". ColoradoRockies.com. http://colorado.rockies.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120116&content_id=26359476&vkey=pr_col&c_id=col.
- ^ Colorado Springs Sky Sox: News: Article
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
- 1982 births
- Living people
- Colorado Rockies players
- Baseball players from Mississippi
- Ole Miss Rebels baseball players
- Ole Miss Rebels football players
- People from Jackson, Mississippi
- Casper Rockies players
- Tri-City Dust Devils players
- Modesto Nuts players
- Tulsa Drillers players
- Colorado Springs Sky Sox players
