Phenomenal Smith, baseball player, 1884-1891

Phenomenal Smith

Born: 12/12/1864 in Philadelphia, PA, USA

Died: 4/3/1952 in Manchester, NH, USA

MLB Debut: 1884-08-14 | Final Game: 1891-06-15

Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 161 lbs

Full name: John Francis Smith

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Biography

Phenomenal Smith, born in 1864, was a professional baseball pitcher who played from 1884 until his retirement in 1891. During his career, he became known for his competitive spirit and skill on the mound, finishing with a record of 54 wins and 74 losses. Smith posted a career Earned Run Average (ERA) of 3.89, a respectable figure for a pitcher during the late 19th century, a period marked by the transition from the deadball era towards a more offense-oriented game. Over his career, Smith recorded 519 strikeouts, showcasing his ability to overpower hitters and contribute significantly to his team's defensive efforts. Despite his struggles in the win-loss column, he remained a reliable presence on the pitching staff, earning a reputation for his durability in an era when pitchers were often expected to complete games. While he did not secure any saves, his contributions on the mound solidified his place in the history of baseball as a noteworthy pitcher of his time.

Career Pitching Statistics

W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
54 74 140 129 123 2 0 1169.3 1177 506 20 479 519 3.89 0

Career ERA 3.89 vs. league average 3.50 across their career seasons — 11.1% 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
1884 PH4 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 9.0 14 4 1 3 4.00 3.11 (-29%) 0.0
1884 PT1 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 11 8 2 4 9.00 — 0.0
1885 BR3 AA 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 12 11 6 2 12.38 — 0.0
1885 PH4 AA 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 4.0 7 4 4 7 9.00 — 0.0
1886 DTN NL 1 1 3 3 3 0 0 25.0 16 6 8 15 2.16 3.37 (+36%) 319.9
1887 BL2 AA 25 30 58 55 54 1 0 491.3 526 207 176 206 3.79 4.17 (+9%) 5336.0
1888 BL2 AA 14 19 35 32 31 0 0 292.0 249 117 137 152 3.61 2.95 (-22%) -3697.7
1888 PH4 AA 2 1 3 3 3 0 0 22.0 21 7 10 19 2.86 2.95 (+3%) 401.2
1889 PH4 AA 2 3 5 5 5 0 0 43.0 53 21 25 12 4.40 3.93 (-12%) -1165.3
1890 PHI NL 8 12 24 20 19 1 0 204.0 209 97 89 81 4.28 3.88 (-10%) 87.3
1890 PIT NL 1 3 5 5 5 0 0 44.0 39 15 13 15 3.07 3.88 (+21%) 772.0
1891 PHI NL 1 1 3 2 0 0 0 19.0 20 9 8 3 4.26 3.52 (-21%) -302.5

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
148 472 80 118 16 10 2 47 17 54 32 0.250 0.332 0.339 0.671 67.6

Career AVG .250 vs. league average .253 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .332 vs. league average .313 across their career seasons — +6.2% above league average.

Career SLG .339 vs. league average .341 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.671 vs. league average 0.654 across their career seasons — near 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
1884 PH4 AA 1 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1884 PT1 AA 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1885 BR3 AA 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 — — — — 0.0
1885 PH4 AA 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 — — — — 0.0
1886 DTN NL 3 9 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 0.111 — — — — 0.0
1887 BL2 AA 64 205 37 48 7 6 1 18 7 26 11 0.234 .270 (-14%) .331 (-2%) .373 (-9%) .705 (-6%) -188.5
1888 BL2 AA 35 109 16 27 3 4 1 12 2 11 7 0.248 .238 (+4%) .290 (+11%) .319 (+18%) .610 (+14%) 232.3
1888 PH4 AA 3 9 1 3 1 0 0 2 1 1 1 0.333 — — — — 232.3
1889 PH4 AA 5 16 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0.188 — — — — 0.0
1890 PHI NL 26 86 19 24 4 0 0 10 6 10 5 0.279 .260 (+7%) .336 (+7%) .351 (-7%) .687 (avg) 23.8
1890 PIT NL 5 17 3 7 0 0 0 2 0 1 2 0.412 — — — — 23.8
1891 PHI NL 3 8 0 3 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 0.375 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 11 0 9 0 5 0
P 140 0 32 199 44 8

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1884 PH4 P 1 0 0 3 1 0
1884 PT1 P 1 0 1 1 0 0
1885 BR3 P 1 0 2 2 1 0
1885 PH4 P 1 0 1 1 0 0
1886 DTN P 3 0 1 2 0 0
1887 BL2 OF 7 0 7 0 4 0
1887 BL2 P 58 0 9 99 20 1
1888 BL2 OF 1 0 1 0 0 0
1888 BL2 P 35 0 8 50 17 1
1888 PH4 P 3 0 0 3 0 0
1889 PH4 P 5 0 0 4 1 1
1890 PHI OF 3 0 1 0 1 0
1890 PHI P 24 0 5 28 1 5
1890 PIT P 5 0 4 6 2 0
1891 PHI P 3 0 1 0 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Pitcher 140
Left Field 11