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Ozzie Smith

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Template:Mlbretired Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith (born December 26, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002. Nicknamed "The Wizard of Oz", he is widely cited as one of the greatest defensive players of all time, having won 13 consecutive Gold Glove Awards during his career.

Smith was born in Mobile, Alabama, but his family moved to the infamous Watts section of Los Angeles when he was six. Despite some adverse surroundings, Smith was encouraged by his mother to stick to academics as much as his penchant for athletics, eventually earning a partial academic scholarship to Cal-Poly. After being drafted by the San Diego Padres in 1977, Smith made his Major League debut the following year. While quickly earning his reputation as a "Wizard" with the glove, he also became know for performing backflips on special occasions while running out to his position on the field. When turmoil with Padres ownership developed, it prompted his trade to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982. Smith helped lead the Cardinals to a World Series victory in 1982, then continued racking up accolades until his retirement in 1996.

Before the Big Leagues

Smith was the second of six children (five boys and one girl) born to his father Clovis and mother Marvella.[1] While the family lived in Mobile, his father worked as a sandblaster at Brookly Air Force Base, and they also happened to live near Amos Otis, who like Smith would later become a Major Leaguer.[2]

When Smith was six, his father moved the family from Mobile to the Watts section of South Central Los Angeles. His dad changed occupations to become a delivery truck driver for Safeway stores, while his mom became an aide at an Armenian nursing home.[2] Smith's mother was an especially influential part of his life who stressed the importance of education, and encouraged Ozzie to pursue his dreams.[3] When he wasn't down at the local YMCA or playing sports of some kind, Ozzie sometimes went with friends to the neighborhood lumberyard, springboarding off inner tubes and doing flips into sawdust piles. This turned out to be a fun precursor to his famous backflips during his playing days. In addition, Smith developed his quick reflexes and defensive prowess in other unusual ways, such as bouncing a ball off the concrete steps in front of his house, and even throwing a ball over the roof, then running to the backyard to try and catch it before it landed.[4]

However, reality hit home during the summer of 1965, as the 10-year old Smith and his family were virtually confined to their home during the Watts Riots . As a passage from Wizard describes,

We were right in the middle of the Watts riots. The National Guard set up its camp right across the street from our house. I don't know how many people have ever seen the National Guard break in somewhere, but they mean business. We had to sleep on the floor because of all the sniping and looting going on.

— Ozzie Smith, from Wizard (1988)[5]

Despite some adverse surroundings, and the divorce of his parents when he was in junior high, Smith's passion for athletics continued to grow.[2] Living in L.A., Smith was a LA Dodgers fan, and he would ride the bus for nearly an hour to get to Dodger Stadium, attending about 25 games a year.[6] Keeping a steady interest in athletics, he went on to play baseball and basketball at Locke High School, where he counted Marques Johnson as a teammate on the basketball squad, and Hall of Famer Eddie Murray as a teammate on the baseball side. Smith later received a partial academic scholarship to Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, where he walked onto the baseball team.

Career

Smith was playing semi-pro ball in Clarinda, Iowa when he was selected in the seventh round of the 1976 amateur entry draft by the Detroit Tigers.[7] The parties couldn't agree on a contract though, with Smith wanting a $10,000 signing bonus, and the Tigers only offering $8,500.[7] Smith went back into the draft pool the following season, and this time was selected in the fourth round by the San Diego Padres, ultimately inking a contract with a $5,000 signing bonus with them.[7] Smith subsequently spent his entire first year of professional baseball in 1977 with the now defunct Walla Walla Padres of the Northwest League.

The Padre Years

Smith started off 1978 as a non-roster invitee to the San Diego Padres' spring training camp in Yuma, Arizona. Smith credits Padre manager Alvin Dark for instilling confidence in him, and Dark even went as far as telling reporters the shortstop job was Smith's until he proved he couldn't handle it.[2] But in a sign of the instability and turmoil to come during Smith's time with the Padres, Dark was fired in the middle of training camp. Nevertheless, Smith made his MLB debut on April 7, 1978.[8]

It didn't take long for Smith to make a name for himself in the big leagues, making what some consider his greatest defensive play only ten games into his rookie season. The Padres played host to the Atlanta Braves on April 20, 1978, and with two out in the top of the fourth inning, Atlanta's Jeff Burroughs hit a grounder up the middle.[9] As Smith describes the play in his own words:

He (Burroughs) hit a ball back up the middle that everybody thought was going into center field. I instinctively broke to my left and dove behind second. As I was in the air, the ball took a bad hop and caromed behind me, but I was able to catch it with my bare hand. I hit the ground, bounced back up, and threw Burroughs out at first.

— Ozzie Smith, from Wizard (1988)[10]

At the conclusion of the 1978 season, Smith finished second in National League Rookie of the Year voting to Bob Horner.[11] Despite his profound defensive abilities, Smith's hitting was still very much a work-in-progress, punctuated by an 0 for 32 start to the 1979 season.[2] Adding to this was the friction that soon developed between Padre ownership and Smith and his agent at the time, Ed Gottlieb. As an example, the parties got into a contract dispute before the 1980 season, and when negotiations lasted into spring training, the Padres opted to renew Smith's contact at his 1979 salary level of $72,500.[2] Angered by the Padres' attitude during those contract talks, Gottlieb took out a help-wanted ad in the San Diego Union, part of which read, "Padre baseball player wants part time employment to supplement income."[2] When the wife of the club's owner publicly offered Smith a job as an assistant to the gardener on her estate, it became clear Smith's days with the Padres were numbered.[2]

Aside from the turmoil, Smith was increasingly recognized for his outstanding abilities on the field. In 1980 he set the single-season record for most assists by a shortstop (621), and concurrently began his sting of 13 consecutive Gold Glove awards.[12] The following year it wasn't a surprise when Smith found himself as a reserve in the 1981 All-Star Game.

The Trade

While Smith was having problems with the Padre ownership, the St. Louis Cardinals also found themselves unhappy with their shortstop. On "Ladies Day" at Busch Stadium in 1981, Garry Templeton made obscene gestures at the home crowd before being pulled off the field by his manager, Whitey Herzog.[13] Herzog, given the task of overhauling the Cardinals by owner Gussie Busch, was looking to trade Templeton when he was approached by Padre GM Jack McKeon at the 1981 baseball winter meetings. McKeon offered to trade Smith, and Herzog, surprised at the offer, reminded McKeon of what he said the last time Herzog inquired about Smith, saying "you said he was untouchable."[13] With relations between Gottlieb and Padres ownership quickly deteriorating, McKeon was now eager to deal.

With little haste, McKeon and Herzog put together a six-player trade, with Templeton for Smith as the centerpiece. While the deal was being negotiated, the Padres failed to bring Herzog's attention to a no-trade clause that had been included in Smith's 1981 contract. Upon learning of the trade, Smith's initial reaction was to invoke the clause and stay in San Diego, but was still interested to hear what the Cardinals had to say.[2] While the deal for the other players beside Templeton and Smith went through, Herzog flew to San Diego to personally meet with Smith and Gottlieb over the Christmas holidays. Smith describes how the meeting went:

Whitey told me that with me playing shortstop for the Cardinals, we could win the pennant. He made me feel wanted, which was a feeling I was quickly losing from the Padres. The mere fact that Whitey would come all the way out there to talk to us was more than enough to convince me that St. Louis was the place I wanted to be.

— Ozzie Smith, from Wizard (1988)[14]

After some more behind-the-scenes wrangling, Smith became a St. Louis Cardinal on February 11, 1982.[15]

The Cardinal Years

1982

The year 1982 marked the dawn of a new era for both Smith and the Cardinals. Herzog's newly assembled team sprinted into first place with a 12-game win streak early in the season, and remained atop the National League East division the remainder of year.[16] The style of baseball Herzog utilized (namely speed on the basepaths, hit-and-run plays, and sacrifice plays) was so extraordinary that is was soon termed "Whiteyball." With excellent speed on the basepaths, his Gold Glove worthy defense, and aptitude for hitting line drives and ground balls at the plate, Smith exhibited traits that coincided with the essence of Whiteyball. In fact, Herzog later claimed that at his peak Smith saved 75 runs per year with his glove.[17]

Not wanting to rest on his defensive laurels though, Smith knew that to improve offensively, he would have to use his speed and hit the ball on the ground. Approaching Smith one day during spring training, Herzog said, "Every time you hit a fly ball, you own me a buck. Every time you hit a ground ball, I owe you a buck. We'll keep that going all year."[18] The bet worked well, and Smith won close to $300 from Herzog during the season.

The '82 season was also notable for Smith on a more personal level. First, he became a father for the first time with the birth of his son O.J., today known as Nikko, on April 28 in San Diego. A month later when outfielder David Green tore a hamstring muscle in May, the Cardinals brought up prospect Willie McGee from their Triple-A affiliate in Louisville.[13] Thrown together by their status as newcomers to the Cardinal organization during Spring Training 1982, Smith and McGee got to know each other fairly well. Once McGee joined the big league roster, the two developed an even closer rapport, and Smith likes to think he, "helped Willie get over some of the rough spots of adjusting to the major leagues."[2]

Smith got his first taste of postseason action when the Cardinals took on the Atlanta Braves in the best-of-five 1982 NLCS. Making the most of the opportunity, Smith drove in the series' first run by hitting a sacrifice fly that scored Willie McGee in Game 1, ultimately going five for nine over the course of St. Louis' three game series sweep.[19]

Just as Herzog had predicted when he told Smith the Cardinals would win the pennant with him on the team, Smith found himself as the team's starting shortstop in the 1982 World Series. It was a matchup of completely opposite strategies; Herzog's Whiteyball pitted against the Milwaukee Brewers and their power-hitting lineup know as "Harvey's Wallbangers." From an individual stance, Smith had a low-key Series, going five for 24 at the plate.[20] Despite his overall average in the Series, Smith contributed offensively when it mattered most. With St. Louis trailing three to one with one out in the sixth inning of Game 7, Smith started a rally with a base hit to left field, eventually scoring the first of three runs that inning.[21] After Bruce Sutter struck out Gordon Thomas in the 9th, Smith celebrated a World Series championship with his teammates.

Go crazy folks

File:Ozzie sidewalk.JPG
Sidewalk paver outside Busch Stadium commemorating Ozzie's "Go crazy" home run.

After failing to match high expectations in 1983 and 1984, the team reached the World Series again in 1985. This was thanks in large part to Smith's game-winning home run in the NLCS against Tom Niedenfuer of the Los Angeles Dodgers, made all the more remarkable because it was Ozzie's first left-handed homer in 3,009 career at bats.[22] This homer was made even more famous for its radio call by broadcaster Jack Buck.

Smith corks one into right, down the line! It may go...Go crazy folks, go crazy! It's a home run and the Cardinals have won the game, by the score of three to two, on a home run by the Wizard! Go crazy!

Jack Buck [23]

They went on to lose the World Series to the Kansas City Royals in seven games.

Smith's season and big hit in the NLCS are made all the more remarkable by a health issue that developed in 1985 and continued the rest of career, that of a torn rotator cuff on his right shoulder.[4] After injuring his shoulder diving into first base, Smith then tried to compensate by changing angle of his throws, leading to the rotator cuff tear. The 5'-10", 180 pound Smith rarely spoke of the injury during his career, opting to forgo surgery and instead built up the strength in his arm the natural way in the weight room, playing through whatever pain he encountered.[22] Says Smith, "I didn't tell anybody about the injury, because I wanted to keep playing and didn't want anybody thinking they could run on me or take advantage of the injury. I tried to do almost everything except throw a baseball left-handed;opening a door, turning on the radio, everything. It didn't get any better, but it was good enough that I didn't have to have surgery...."[24]

Smith's most "eye-popping" play in a Cardinal uniform came on August 5, 1986 during a game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Busch Stadium.[22] Phillies first baseman Von Hayes hit a short fly ball to left field which was pursued by both Smith and left fielder Curt Ford. Running with his back turned to the plate, Smith leaped forward, simultaneously catching the ball while parallel to the ground, and leaping over the diving Ford, avoiding Ford's baseball cleats by inches.[22]

The Pinnacle - 1987

The most productive season Smith ever had at the plate came in 1987, when he had a .303 batting average, 43 stolen bases, 75 RBIs, 104 runs scored, and 40 doubles, good enough to earn him the Silver Slugger Award. He mostly batted second in the lineup; his plate discipline allowed him to post a career high on-base percentage of .392. This performance lifted the Cardinals into the playoffs, before ultimately falling short in Game 7 of the 1987 World Series. Smith ended up second in the MVP balloting to Andre Dawson, who had played on the last-placed Chicago Cubs, largely because he and teammate Jack Clark split the first-place vote. Following the 1987 season, Smith was awarded the largest contract in the National League at $2,340,000.[25]

While the team wouldn't see the postseason the rest of the decade, Smith continued racking up All-Star appearances and Gold Gloves. Combined with the attention Smith received from his recent contract, Smith continued to be a national figure. Always known to be a savvy dresser, he received the ultimate recognition in that arena by making the April 1988 cover of GQ magazine.[26] But with the passing of owner Gussie Busch in 1989, change was inevitably on the horizon, and not in a beneficial way for the Cardinals. Brewery executives now running the team were more concerned about the team's finances than investing in players, leading a frustrated Herzog to quit in 1990.[27]

The Torre Era

While players like Willie McGee and Vince Coleman were shipped out of town under the brewery's watch, Smith remained in St. Louis. Joe Torre took his turn at the Cardinals' helm next, but without adequate resources from ownership, the postseason remained elusive for the first half of the 1990s. While the Cardinals' celebrated their 100th anniversary in 1992, Smith marked some milestones of his own, stealing his 500th career base on April 26,1992, then notching a triple on May 26 in front of the home crowd for his 2,000 hit.[27] While St. Louis had a one game league in the National League East division on June 1, injuries took their toll on the team, including Smith's two week-long illness in late July after he contracted chicken pox for the first time in his life.[28] Also, as a testament to his national visibility during this time, Smith even appeared in an 1992 episode of The Simpsons titled "Homer at the Bat".

After winning a Gold Glove for the final time in 1992, injuries started to creep up on Smith. He appeared in 98 games during the strike-shortened '94 season, then sat out a large portion of 1995 after having shoulder surgery on May 31, ultimately appearing in only 44 games that season.[29][30]

1996

File:Ozzie Smith statue.JPG
Ozzie's statue outside Busch Stadium.

As Smith entered the twilight of his career in 1996, he once again witnessed a complete reboot of the Cardinal franchise, as new ownership gave the task of restoring the Cardinals' winning tradition to manager Tony LaRussa. After the team acquired shortstop Royce Clayton from the Giants in the offseason, LaRussa said there would be an open competition between Smith and Clayton, with the starting job going to whoever had the best spring.[31]

Smith believed he outplayed Clayton during the spring, but LaRussa disagreed, as evidenced by awarding the starting role to Clayton. The disagreement between Smith and LaRussa, and the resulting tension it created, prompted an emotional press conference at Busch Stadium on June 19, 1996, where Smith announced his retirement from Major League Baseball, effective at season's end.[27] This extra motivation to win for Smith help propel the team to their first postseason birth since the aforementioned 1987 season.

One of the lighter moments of the year came in the form of a commercial that Smith recorded with newly returned teammate Willie McGee. As part of the team's "Baseball like it oughta be" ad campaign, Smith and McGee, under the aliases of "Henry Smith" and "Walter McGee" respectively, partially ad-libbed several TV spots dressed as two old men sitting a bar talking about the Cardinals. Shocked that the shy McGee would do such an outrageous thing, teammates were enthralled by watching outtakes from the TV spots, some of which can be seen on a commemorative video about the Cardinals' 1996 season.[32]

After 19 seasons, Smith's career culminated in a special retirement ceremony before the game against the Cincinnati Reds on September 28, 1996, known as "Ozzie Smith Day." Noted for his ritual backflip before opening days, All-Star Games, and postseason games, Smith chose this occasion to perform it for one of the last times.

Even though his number was retired, Smith wasn't done playing just yet. First, the Cardinals faced some tough games against Smith's old team, the San Diego Padres, in the 1996 NLDS. After sitting out Game 1, Smith got the start in Game 2 at Busch Stadium, helping his team go up two games in the series by notching a run, a hit, and two walks at the plate, and an assist and a putout with his glove.[33] The team carried on from there, sweeping the series by winning Game 3 in San Diego.

After surprising the entire baseball world by going up three games to one on the Atlanta Braves in the 1996 NLCS, the Cardinals couldn't get the extra win to put themselves into the World Series. After Game 7 in Atlanta had turned into a blowout, Smith pinch-hit in the sixth inning, marking the end to his Hall-of-Fame career.[34] With all the accolades he achieved in his career, it is interesting to note Smith currently holds the record for the most at-bats without hitting a grand slam.[35]

Post-baseball

Ozzie Smith's number 1 was retired by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1996.

Upon retirement, Smith took over for Mel Allen as the host of the long-running TV series This Week in Baseball in 1997.[36] After that ended, Smith moved on to do work for CNN-SI.[31] Plus, Smith still was receiving accolades even after his playing days. For instance, in 1999 he ranked Number 87 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was nominated as a finalist for the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. Then in 2003 he was given the additional honor of induction into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.[37]

Cooperstown

On January 8, 2002 Smith received a phone call from Jack O'Connell, the secretary of the Baseball Writer's Association of America, informing him that he had been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot, named on 433 of the 472 ballots cast.[38][39][40] As it happened, the Olympic torch was passing through St. Louis on its way to Salt Lake City for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and Smith served as a torchbearer in a ceremony with St. Louis Rams' quarterback Kurt Warner that evening.[4]

Smith was officially inducted into the Hall of Fame during ceremonies on July 28, 2002. During his speech, he compared his baseball experiences with the characters from the novel "The Wizard of Oz," after which his son Dustin presented his Hall of Fame plaque.[41] Days later on August 11, Smith was back at Busch Memorial Stadium for the unveiling of the statue pictured above in this article.[42]

Smith has chosen to limit his association with the Cardinals for as long as LaRussa remains manager of the team, still upset with the situation that unfolded in 1996.[43] Today, Smith also keeps busy with a restaurant at Westport Plaza in St. Louis that bears his name, a location he used to cheer on his son Nikko as he cracked the top ten finalists of the 2005 edition of American Idol.[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ozzie Smith." NNDB.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Smith, Ozzie (1988). Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books. pp. 6–7, 9, 17, 31, 33–36, 51, 66. ISBN 0-8092-4594-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ Eisenbath, Mike (1999). The Cardinals Encyclopedia. Temple University Press. p. 284. ISBN 1566397030.
  4. ^ a b c Smith, Ozzie (2002). Ozzie Smith - The Road to Cooperstown. Sports Publishing L.L.C. pp. 15, 24–25. ISBN 1-58261-576-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Smith, Ozzie (1988). Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 4. ISBN 0-8092-4594-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ Smith, Ozzie (1988). Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 9. ISBN 0-8092-4594-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ a b c Hollander, Dave. "Still, Nothing in Baseball Gets Past Ozzie"AOL. 8 Aug. 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
  8. ^ "San Deigo Padres 3, San Francisco Giants 2." Retrosheet.org. Retrieved on 2007-09-27.
  9. ^ "San Diego Padres 2, Atlanta Braves 0." Retrosheet.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-10.
  10. ^ Smith, Ozzie (1988). Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 21. ISBN 0-8092-4594-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Baseball Awards Voting for 1978." Baseball-Reference.com Retrieved on 2007-11-12.
  12. ^ "Shortstop Assist Records." Baseball Almanac. Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  13. ^ a b c Herzog, Whitey (1987). White Rat - A Life in Baseball. New York: Harper & Row. pp. 135–137, 141. ISBN 0-06-080910-8. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Smith, Ozzie (1988). Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 52. ISBN 0-8092-4594-9. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ Smith, Ozzie with Rob Rains. Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1988. Page 57.
  16. ^ Smith, Ozzie with Rob Rains. Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1988. Page 63.
  17. ^ "The Ballplayers - Ozzie Smith." BaseballLibrary.com. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
  18. ^ Smith, Ozzie with Rob Rains. Wizard. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1988. Page 61.
  19. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals 7, Atlanta Braves 0." Retrosheet.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.
  20. ^ Schoor, Gene (1990). The History of the World Series. New York: William Morrow and Company. p. 412. ISBN 0-688-07995-4.
  21. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals 6, Milwaukee Brewers 2." Retrosheet.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
  22. ^ a b c d St. Louis Cardinals 2005 Media Guide. Hadler Printing, 2005. Page C-26.
  23. ^ Garner, Joe (2000). And The Fans Roared. Naperville: Sourcebooks. p. 98. ISBN 1-57071-582-3.
  24. ^ Smith, Ozzie (2002). Ozzie Smith - The Road to Cooperstown. Sports Publishing L.L.C. p. 43. ISBN 1-58261-576-4. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  25. ^ 1988 National League Leader Boards Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
  26. ^ Boswell, Thomas. "The Wizardry of Ozzie Smith." GQ. April 1988.
  27. ^ a b c Rains, Rob (2003). Cardinal Nation (2nd edition ed.). St. Louis: The Sporting News. pp. 251–252. ISBN 0-89204-727-5. {{cite book}}: |edition= has extra text (help)
  28. ^ "History:Cardinals Timeline."St. Louis Cardinals. 2005-03-22. Retrieved on 2007-11-21.
  29. ^ "Smith Has Shoulder Surgery." NYTimes.com 1 June 1995. Retrieved on 2007-11-15.
  30. ^ Ozzie Smith MLB Career Stats. ESPN.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  31. ^ a b Rains, Rob (2002). Whitey's Boys: A Celebration of the '82 Cards World Championship. Chicago: Triumph. pp. 109–110. ISBN 1-57243-485-6. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ Baseball Like it Oughta Be - The Story of the 1996 St. Louis Cardinals. Videocassette. Orion, 1996.
  33. ^ "St. Louis Cardinals 5, San Diego Padres 4."Retrosheet.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-26.
  34. ^ "Atlanta Braves 15, St. Louis Cardinals 0." Retrosheet.org. Retrieved on 2007-09-25.
  35. ^ Kurkjian, Tim. "The grand slam … unusual, yet fun." 2006-08-17. ESPN.com Retrieved on 2007-11-25.
  36. ^ "Ozzie Smith Gets Job in Television." NYTimes.com 15 Jan 1997.
  37. ^ "Ozzie Smith." St Louis Walk of Fame. http://www.stlouiswalkoffame.org/inductees/ozzie-smith.html
  38. ^ Rains, Rob and Alvin Reid. Whitey's Boys: A Celebration of the '82 Cards World Championship. Chicago: Triumph, 2002. Page 107.
  39. ^ Bodley, Hal. "Ozzie Smith voted into Hall of Fame." USA Today. 9 Jan 2002.
  40. ^ "Hall of Famer detail." National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. http://www.baseballhalloffame.org/hofers/detail.jsp?playerId=122439
  41. ^ Leach, Matthew. "A Day of Celebration." MLB.com 28 July 2002. Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  42. ^ "Ozzie Smith Pictures, Photos, and Images" Cards Clubhouse.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-01.
  43. ^ "Ten years later, Ozzie Smith, La Russa still feuding." ESPN.com 22 May 2006.
  44. ^ Johnson, Kevin C. "American Idol's Screaming Section." TVGuide.com 23 March 2005. Retrieved on 2007-10-15.

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