Red Smith, baseball player, 1917-1918

Red Smith

Born: 4/11/1892 in Logansport, IN, USA

Died: 8/23/1970 in Bradenton, FL, USA

MLB Debut: 1917-09-17 | Final Game: 1918-09-01

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'8" | Weight: 165 lbs

Full name: Willard Jehu Smith

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Biography

Red Smith was a professional baseball player born in 1892, who played primarily as a position player during the relatively brief span of his career from 1917 to 1918. He participated in 26 games at the Major League level, where he recorded 7 hits and achieved a batting average of .156. Smith contributed to his teams with 5 runs batted in and managed to steal 1 base, showcasing his agility despite a limited offensive output in the competitive landscape of early 20th-century baseball. Smith's career unfolded during a transitional period in baseball history, just before the onset of the "deadball era" and amid the backdrop of World War I, which impacted player availability and team compositions. His time in the Major Leagues may have been short, but he remains a part of the rich tapestry of baseball history, representing a generation of players who laid the groundwork for the sport's evolution in the years to come.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
26 45 2 7 2 0 0 5 1 6 4 0.156 0.255 0.200 0.455 0.0

Career AVG .156 vs. league average .252 across their career seasons — 38.2% below league average.

Career OBP .255 vs. league average .315 across their career seasons — 19.2% below league average.

Career SLG .200 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — 38.4% below league average.

Career OPS 0.455 vs. league average 0.640 across their career seasons — 28.9% 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
1917 PIT NL 11 21 1 3 1 0 0 2 1 3 4 0.143 — — — — 0.0
1918 PIT NL 15 24 1 4 1 0 0 3 0 3 0 0.167 — — — — 0.0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
C 16 0 47 15 2 3

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1917 PIT C 6 0 20 11 0 1
1918 PIT C 10 0 27 4 2 2

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Catcher 16