Clay Smith

Born: 9/11/1914 in Cambridge, KS, USA

Died: 3/5/2002 in Winfield, KS, USA

MLB Debut: 1938-09-13 | Final Game: 1940-09-22

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190 lbs

Full name: Clay Jamieson Smith

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Biography

Clay Smith was a professional baseball pitcher born in 1914, who played in Major League Baseball for a brief period from 1938 to 1940. Over the course of his career, Smith demonstrated his abilities on the mound, finishing with a win-loss record of 1-1 and an earned run average (ERA) of 5.49. Despite the challenges of pitching in the pre-World War II era, he managed to record a total of 17 strikeouts, showcasing his potential as a strikeout artist, although he did not register any saves during his time in the league. Smith's playing career unfolded during a time when the game was evolving, with many teams beginning to experiment with different pitching styles and strategies. While his career numbers may not reflect the dominance seen in some of his contemporaries, Smith's contributions to the teams he played for during those pivotal years are a testament to his dedication to the sport. His journey through the challenges of the late 1930s and early 1940s highlights the resilience and determination of players during an era filled with both opportunity and adversity in baseball history.

Career Pitching Statistics

W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	HR	BB	SO	ERA	Pitcher PIV
1	1	18	1	0	0	0	39.3	50	24	4	15	17	5.49	0

Career ERA 5.49 vs. league average 4.28 across their career seasons — 28.3% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Year	Team	Lg	W	L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA	Lg ERA	Pitcher PIV
1938	CLE	AL	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	11.0	18	8	2	3	6.55	4.35 (-51%)	20.1
1940	DET	AL	1	1	14	1	0	0	0	28.3	32	16	13	14	5.08	4.21 (-21%)	-470.9

Career Batting Statistics

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
18	11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0.000	0.083	0.000	0.083	0.0

Career AVG .000 vs. league average .270 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OBP .083 vs. league average .338 across their career seasons — 75.4% below league average.

Career SLG .000 vs. league average .390 across their career seasons — 100.0% below league average.

Career OPS 0.083 vs. league average 0.729 across their career seasons — 88.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1938	CLE	AL	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0
1940	DET	AL	14	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0.000	—	—	—	—	0.0

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000

Playoff Batting by Year

Year	Round	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	AVG
1940	WS	DET	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0.000

Playoff Career Pitching

W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
0	0	1	0	0	4.0	1	1	3	1	2.25

Playoff Pitching by Year

Year	Round	Team	W	L	G	GS	SV	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA
1940	WS	DET	0	0	1	0	0	4.0	1	1	3	1	2.25

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
P	18	0	2	12	0	0

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1938	CLE	P	4	0	1	2	0	0
1940	DET	P	14	0	1	10	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position	Games
Pitcher	18

College History

School Name	City	State	Years Attended
Southwestern College	Winfield	KS	1932, 1933, 1934