Alex Smith (Hoofdklasse)

Alexander Smith

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 220 lb.

• School Pomona-Pitzer College

• Born March 1, 1981

Biographical Information

Alex Smith has pitched for the British national team and has spent a couple years in Hoofdklasse in the Netherlands.

In the 2001 European Championship, the 20-year-old was 1-1 with a save and a 3.24 ERA with 12 strikeouts in 8 1/3 IP for Britain.

Smith was a fine college hurler. In 2002, he was 3-1 with 7 saves and a 0.91 ERA, allowing only 20 hits and 3 walks in 39 2/3 IP. He set a Pomona College ERA record. Had he qualified (he was 10 1/3 innings shy), he would have led all junior college hurlers in the USA. He remained with Pomona for 2003.

Smith was 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA for the British national team in the 2003 European Championship. Alex pitched for Oskarshamm in the Elitserien in Sweden in 2003. He spent the winter of 2003-2004 in Australia.

In 2005, he came to Hoofdklasse to pitch for Tornado's. Smith was 7-6 with a 2.45 ERA that year. He tied Patrick Beljaards for 4th in Hoofdklasse in wins, was third in innings (117 2/3), tied with Gary Tongue for 2nd in complete games (5, trailing Satoru Fujii), was 4th in strikeouts (75), third in walks (53) and 15th in ERA. He was 2-0 with a 1.26 ERA and a team-high 11 strikeouts in the 2005 European Championship; only Xavier Civit had more wins in those Euros.

Smith spent 2006 with the Sussex Skyhawks of the Canadian-American Baseball League. He then moved to South Georgia in the South Coast League. He had a 2.51 ERA in the 2007 European Championship and saved a win over the Spanish national team as Great Britain won its second Silver Medal in European Championship history.

In 2008, Smith returned to Holland with ADO, now as a pitching coach-player. He was 4-9 with a 3.79 ERA. He led Hoofdklasse in innings (97 1/3) and complete games (4), tied for third in strikeouts (68), was second with 49 walks and possibly led in both losses and hits allowed (108). He saved his best for last. After ADO finished in the cellar, they faced the Euro Stars in the promotion and relegation series. In game one, Smith pitched 17 innings, throwing 244 pitches and got the win in a 18-inning marathon, believed to be the longest game in Dutch baseball history.

Sources

• British Baseball Federation
• Mister Baseball
• Dutch Baseball Federation
• Harry Wedemeijer's international baseball stats
• Pomona-Pitzer College
• Wayback Archive of the 2005 European Championship site