Dan Smith (smithda07)

Daniel Charles Smith

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.

• High School Girard High School

• Debut June 8, 1999
• Final Game June 25, 2003
• Born September 15, 1975 in Flemington, NJ USA

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Biographical Information

Dan Smith gave up Tony Gwynn's 3,000th hit, on August 6, 1999, in Montreal. His brother Dustin Smith played in the minors and later was a scout.

He is not to be confused with another pitcher named Dan Smith. Both were drafted by the Texas Rangers in the early 1990s and both pitched in the major leagues. This Dan Smith pitched for the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox from 1999 to 2003.

He spent six seasons in the Rangers' organization as a durable but unspectacular starter; in 1997, he led the Florida State League with 25 starts and 160.2 innings pitched, while going 8-10, 4.43, for the Charlotte Rangers, then in 1998 he was 13-9, but with a 5.81 ERA for the AA Tulsa Drillers. He pitched briefly in AAA that year, then started 1999 as a starter for the Ottawa Lynx of the International League after having been selected off waivers by the Montreal Expos in the off-season. He made his Major League debut with the Expos on June 8th after posting a 5-4, 3.68 record over 11 starts for the Lynx. He was used as a regular starting pitcher over the second half of the season as the Expos were desperately searching for any live arm to round out their depleted pitching staff. He posted an uninspiring 4-9 record with a 6.02 ERA in 20 games (17 starts), despite showing some flashes of talent. He had arthroscopic surgery in his shoulder at the end of the season - the second of his career - making the Expos shy away from re-signing him when he became a free agent.

Smith signed with the Red Sox for the 2000 season and returned briefly to the majors in June, pitching two games in relief in between going 7-10, 4.84 as a starting pitcher for the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. He then spent 2001 as a starter with the Buffalo Bisons in the Cleveland Indians organization, going 6-4, 4.50, before signing again with Montreal. His best year was 2002, when he began the season as a solid starter in his second stint at AAA Ottawa, going 5-4, 3.24 in 14 starts. He was called up to the Expos on June 19th and, used exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time in his professional career, was one of the team's most reliable middle relievers over the second half, posting a 3.47 ERA in 33 games. He started the next season well, but became ineffective as he began to suffer arm problems, seeing his ERA eventually rise to 5.26. He never returned to the majors after being placed on the disabled list in late June of that year, even though he kicked around the Expos and Washington Nationals organization for a few more seasons afterwards.

Smith's main teammates were Vladimir Guerrero, Jose Vidro, Orlando Cabrera, Brad Wilkerson and Michael Barrett.