Ottis Smith

Ottis Henry Smith

• Bats Right, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 170 lb.

• High School Goodrich High School

• Born January 28, 1971 in Fond du Lac, WI USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Ottis Smith pitched for seven seasons in the minors, peaking in AAA.

Smith was taken by the New York Mets in the 48th round of the 1989 amateur draft. He no-hit the GCL Twins while with the 1990 GCL Mets, part of a fabulous 6-5, 1.36 campaign with 89 K in 79 1/3 IP. He tied Albert Maldonado and Tim Rumer for 6th in the Gulf Coast League in wins, was second to Jose Martinez in strikeouts (one shy) and was third in ERA behind Mariano Rivera and John Roper. Roper was named the league's All-Star hurler. In 1991, Smith posted a 7-2, 2.61 record for the Pittsfield Mets. He led the New York-Penn League in innings (103 2/3), tied for 8th in wins and tied for 10th in strikeouts (79).

Ottis split 1992 between the Columbia Mets (6-6, 2 Sv, 3.02) and St. Lucie Mets (4-5, 3.17). He tied Rob Guzik and Jason Jacome for 6th in the Mets chain in wins, was 4th in losses and was third with 133 strikeouts (behind Martinez and Bobby Jones. In '93, the left-hander pitched for St. Lucie (10-7, 3.57) and the Norfolk Tides (0-2, 6.38). He tied for 9th in the Mets system in victories. Dealt to the Chicago Cubs with Anthony Young for José Vizcaíno, he was 8-4 with a 3.07 ERA for the 1994 Orlando Cubs with only 22 walks in 123 IP. He was 6th in the Southern League in ERA, between Brad Radke and Steve Wojciechowski.

In 1995, the Wisconsin native was 4-5 with a 3.07 ERA for Orlando and 1-3 with a 10.45 ERA for the Iowa Cubs. He missed 1996 due to injury. In the Texas Rangers organization the next year, he was 2-3 with five saves and a 3.94 ERA for the Port Charlotte Rangers.

He ended his career 48-42 with 7 saves and a 3.25 ERA in 159 games (115 starts). In 795 1/3 IP, he allowed 756 hits and 286 walks while fanning 555. A good hitter for a pitcher, he batted .294/.333/.412.