RetroSimba

(Updated Dec. 9, 2018)

Lee Smith can look back on his years with the Cardinals as having been significant in contributing to his status as one of baseball’s best relief pitchers.

Smith, elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Dec. 9 2018, spent more years (eight) and earned more saves (180) with his first team, the Cubs, than he did with any other in his 18-season big-league career, but his time with the Cardinals may have been his most dominant.

As a Cardinals closer from May 1990 to August 1993, Smith earned 160 saves, or 33.4 percent of his career total of 478. With the Cardinals, Smith led the National League in saves in 1991 (47) and in 1992 (43), achieving more than 40 in a season for the first time in his career.

Needing a closer to replace Todd Worrell, who was sidelined because of elbow surgery, the Cardinals acquired Smith from the Red Sox for outfielder Tom Brunansky on May 4, 1990. At the time, the Cardinals were in last place in the National League East Division and had recorded five saves _ two from Scott Terry and one apiece from Bob Tewksbury, Rick Horton and Ken Dayley.

The Red Sox wanted to unload Smith because they already had a closer, Jeff Reardon, and Smith was headed to free agency after the season. The Cardinals traded Brunansky because he also was eligible to be a free agent after the season. The Cardinals had tried to negotiate a multi-year deal with Brunansky before trading him, but “he wanted a no-trade contract and we don’t have that in St. Louis,” Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog told the Associated Press.

The Braves had offered the Red Sox two players for Smith and thought they had an edge over the Cardinals. “We offered them a heck of a deal.” Braves general manager Bobby Cox said to The Sporting News.

Smith welcomed the trade to St. Louis because Herzog informed him he would be used as the Cardinals’ closer. With Reardon the primary closer in Boston, Smith said he “sort of felt like the odd man out” there.

“I’m going to get an opportunity to pitch in the situation that I’m used to,” Smith said.

Smith earned his first save for the Cardinals on May 11, 1990, pitching a flawless ninth inning in relief of starter Bryn Smith in St. Louis’ 5-2 victory over John Smoltz and the Braves. Boxscore Smith posted 27 saves and a 2.10 ERA for the 1990 Cardinals and re-signed with them.

In 1993, less than two hours before the Sept. 1 trade deadline, the Cardinals dealt Smith to the Yankees for pitcher Rich Batchelor. The Yankees, 1.5 games behind first-place Toronto in the American League East, were seeking a replacement for closer Steve Farr, who had an elbow injury.

If the Yankees hadn’t acquired Smith, they were going to call up Batchelor from the minor leagues, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, and the Cardinals were going to test Mike Perez as the closer the rest of the season. The trade “took me off the hook” from having to inform Smith he was being removed from the closer role, said Joe Torre, who’d replaced Herzog as Cardinals manager.

“Everything in St. Louis has been awesome for me,” Smith said. “I did things here I never did before. I’d been written off a couple of years before that and I turned some heads.”

Smith pitched eight games for the Yankees. He went on to play for the Orioles, Angels, Reds and Expos, but never again put up the kinds of numbers he did with the Cardinals.

Smith’s 478 career saves rank third all-time, behind Mariano Rivera (652) and Trevor Hoffman (601).