John Smiley Essentials

Positions:
Bats: L Throws: L
Height: 76 Weight: 180
Born: Wednesday, March 17, 1965 in Phoenixville, PA USA
Died: in ,
Debut: 9/1/1986
Last Game: 8/30/1997
Full Name: John Patrick Smiley

John Smiley, pitcher for the 1986-91 Pirates. He was a 12th round draft pick of Pittsburgh in the 1983 amateur draft, who made his Major League debut in September, 1986. He spent his first two seasons in the bullpen before moving to the starting role for 1988. He won 13 games with a 3.25 ERA in 205 innings, then followed it up with a 12-8 ,2.81 record in 28 starts in 1989, completing eight of those outings. The Pirates won their first pennant in 11 seasons in 1990, but Smiley struggled on the mound. He went 9-10, 4.64, and his innings dropped down to 149 that season, after topping the 200 mark two straight years.

In 1991, Pittsburgh again won the NL East and this time Smiley was a big part of it. He went 20-9, finishing third in the Cy Young voting, while making his first All-Star appearance. In the postseason, Smiley got hit hard in both of his NLCS starts against the Braves, lasting a total of just 2.2 innings between both games. With one year left on his contract before free agency, the Pirates traded him on his 27th birthday to the Minnesota Twins for Denny Neagle and Midre Cummings. Smiley won 16 games for the Twins, but the Pirates were still able to make the playoffs for a third straight time. He signed with the Reds as a free agent in 1993 and he won 50 games over the next five seasons before injuries ended his career. With the Pirates, he went 60-42, 3.57 in 196 games.