Ozzie Smith

Position: Shortstop
Bats: Both  •  Throws: Right
5-11, 150lb (180cm, 68kg)
Born: December 26, 1954 in Mobile, AL
High School: Locke HS (Los Angeles, CA)
School: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (San Luis Obispo, CA)
Debut: April 7, 1978 (11,615th in MLB history)
vs. SFG 1 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Last Game: September 29, 1996
vs. CIN 2 AB, 0 H, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 SB
Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player in 2002. (Voted by BBWAA on 433/472 ballots)
Full Name: Osborne Earl Smith
Nicknames: The Wizard of Oz
Twitter: @STLWizard

Played For
San Diego Padres (1978-1981)
St. Louis Cardinals (1982-1996)

Awards and Honors
1980 NL Gold Glove
1981 NL Gold Glove
1982 NL Gold Glove
1983 NL Gold Glove
1984 NL Gold Glove
1985 NL Gold Glove
1985 NL NLCS MVP
1986 NL Gold Glove
1987 NL Gold Glove
1988 NL Gold Glove
1989 NL Gold Glove
1990 NL Gold Glove
1991 NL Gold Glove
1992 NL Gold Glove

Post-Season Appearances
1982 National League Championship Series
1982 World Series
1985 National League Championship Series
1985 World Series
1987 National League Championship Series
1987 World Series
1996 National League Championship Series
1996 National League Divisional Series
All-Star Selections
1981 NL
1982 NL
1983 NL
1984 NL
1985 NL
1986 NL
1987 NL
1988 NL
1989 NL
1990 NL
1991 NL
1992 NL
1994 NL
1995 NL
1996 NL

Nine Players Who Debuted in 1978

Paul Molitor
Ozzie Smith
Carney Lansford
Pedro Guerrero
Danny Darwin
Mike Morgan
Dave Stewart
Terry Kennedy
Ron Oester

The Ozzie Smith Teammate Team
C:   Gene Tenace
1B: Keith Hernandez
2B: Tommie Herr
3B: Terry Pendleton
SS: Royce Clayton
LF: Vince Coleman
CF: Willie McGee
RF: Dave Winfield
SP: Bob Forsch
SP: Joaquin Andujar
SP: Gaylord Perry
SP: Jim Kaat
SP: John Tudor
RP: Bruce Sutter
RP: Dennis Eckersley
M:   Whitey Herzog

Notable Events and Chronology for Ozzie Smith Career

SearchSearch Events, Dates and More Date (Newest)Title (A - Z)

December 26, 1954

future major league star Ozzie Smith is born in Mobile, Alabama

April 28, 1978

ozzie smith barehanded play

October 1, 1978

Ozzie Smith debuts his end of season flip

November 21, 1978

Bob Horner of the Braves edges Ozzie Smith of San Diego to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award

August 15, 1980

The Astros win in 20innings on rare error by the Wizard

September 25, 1980

The Padres become the first team in baseball history to have three players to steal more than 50 bases in a season when both Jerry Mumphrey and Ozzie Smith swipe their 50th sack in a 5-3 extra-inning loss to Cincinnati. Fellow Friar Gene Richard, who will lead the club with 61 stolen bases, reached the milestone at the end of last month.

August 26, 1981

Cardinals’ manager Whitey Herzog fines Garry Templeton $5,000 and suspends him indefinitely without pay for his rude behavior that includes an obscene gesture directed toward Redbird fans after they boo him in the first inning for not hustling to first base. The St. Louis shortstop, who will be traded to the Padres in the offseason for Ozzie Smith, agrees to seek psychiatric help and will be reinstated to the lineup on September 15.

December 10, 1981

The Cardinals and Padres trade shortstops as Garry Templeton goes to San Diego along with outfielder Sixto Lezcano and Ozzie Smith and right-hander Steve Mura head for St. Louis. The trade, however, will not be finalized until Smith’s salary with his new club is determined by an outside arbitrator two months later.

February 11, 1982

Ozzie Smith agrees to go to the Cardinals

January 19, 1983

Ozzie Smith becomes the game’s first $1 million shortstop

May 15, 1984

Joaquin Andujar hits a grandslam vs the Braves – during his career he never gave up a grandslam

October 14, 1985

Ozzie Smith provides one of the most memorable moments in Cardinals history by hitting a dramatic homer to win Game 5 of the NLCS

October 22, 1985

Pitcher Bret Saberhagen gives the Kansas City Royals their first World Series victory with a complete game 6 – 1 decision in Game 3

December 31, 1985

Major League Season Recap 1985

November 18, 1987

Andre Dawson becomes first player to win MVP on last place team

May 20, 1988

Billy Hatcher delivers five hits during a 5-3 triumph in St. Louis. His last one snaps a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth, driving in Terry Puhl. Bob Knepper picks up his sixth win – lowering his ERA to 0.89 for the season. The two sides commit seven errors and even Cardinal wizard Ozzie Smith is not immune. 

April 26, 1989

Kevin Mitchell makes a barehanded grab of ozzie smiths fly ball

November 21, 1989

Kevin Mitchell of the Giants is named 1989 National League Most Valuable Player

February 20, 1992

The Simpsons entitled “Homer at the Bat” has several Major Leaguers appear

July 11, 1994

Handling four chances in the 8 – 1 defeat to the Rockies, Cardinal infielder Ozzie Smith passes Luis Aparicio and moves into the top spot on the all-time list for assists by a shortstop. “The Wizard of Oz” will end his 19-year career in 1996 with 8,375 assists.

July 14, 1994

St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith records four assists in the Cardinals’ 8 – 1 loss to the Colorado Rockies, moving him past Luis Aparicio and into first place on the all-time list.

September 15, 1995

Ozzie Smith takes part in the 1,554th twin killing of his career to set a new big league record for double plays. The Cardinals’ shortstop’s wizardry isn’t enough to prevent the Redbirds’ 7-6 loss to the Dodgers at Busch Stadium.

June 19, 1996

Cardinals infielder Ozzie Smith, considered the best all-time defensive shortstop, announces he will retire at the end of the season. In his first year of eligibility, the writers elect the 15-time All-Star infielder will to the Hall of Fame.

September 2, 1996

It seems like old timers day as the Cardinals whip the NL Central-leading Astros, 8 – 7. Willie McGee, playing for Ron Gant, has four hits and three RBI, while Ozzie Smith has three hits, three RBI, and four runs.

January 8, 2002

Ozzie Smith, a 15-time All-Star shortstop, is elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA in his first year of eligibility

July 28, 2002

During his induction speech at the Hall of Fame ceremonies in Cooperstown, with the song ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ playing in the background and with a copy of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in his hands, Ozzie Smith compares his baseball career to Dorothy’s away trip from Kansas. Citing the recipe for his success during his 19-year career with the Cardinals and Padres, the 47 year-old tells the crowd he had the mind to dream, which the Scarecrow cherished, a heart to believe, which the Tin Man wanted, and courage to persevere, which the Lion lacked.

March 9, 2005

Nikko Smith, Ozzie’s son who made it to the third round of theAmerican Idol semi-finals, is voted off the popular reality show

October 2, 2005

In the top of the sixth inning at Busch Stadium, Ozzie Smith emerges from the gate in right field wall in an open convertible. After touring the warning track, the former Cardinal shortstop removes the digit “1”, his old uniform number, which is affixed to the outfield wall, revealing a “0” to indicate the number of regular-season games scheduled at Busch Stadium.

May 5, 2006

At Citizens Bank Park, Omar Vizquel of the San Francisco Giants plays his 2,302nd game at shortstop, catching Cal Ripken, Jr. for third-most all time. Vizquel is now behind Hall of Famers Luis Aparicio (2,581) and Ozzie Smith (2,511). He will eventually pass both.

August 14, 2021

All Time Greatest Shortstops

April 7, 2023

Luis Aparicio – The Best I Ever Saw

Biography

Ozzie ​Smith was the best defensive shortstop of the 1980s and most likely the best ever. For nineteen years, the “Wizard of Oz” (or “The Wizard of Ah!’s”, as some put it) dominated baseball with his breathtaking, and often game-saving, defensive play. To watch Ozzie play was to see a combination of baseball, ballet, and gymnastics. Smith won thirteen straight Gold Glove Awards (1980-1992) at shortstop and led the National League in fielding percentage seven times; St. Louis manager Whitey Herzog has argued that at his peak Smith saved 75 runs per year with his glove.

Smith began his major league career with the San Diego Padres in 1978 after only 68 games in the minors. Despite an unremarkable performance at the plate (.258, one homer, 46 RBIs) Smith’s 40 stolen bases and incredible glove work helped him to a second-place finish to Bob Horner in the NL Rookie of the Year voting. On April 28, 1978, Smith made what he rated as his best play ever when he dove to his left to snare a grounder hit by Atlanta’s Jeff Burroughs. The ball took a bad hop and skipped behind Smith’s head, so Smith promptly stuck out his bare right hand to snag the ball before popping to his feet and throwing Burroughs out at first base. Cardinal fans came to expect such plays from the Wizard, who consistently obliged.

Smith’s outstanding defensive play for San Diego was at times tempered by his failures at the plate. In 1980, Smith set the record for most assists in a season (621) but hit just .230. The following year he hit only .222. Unwilling to give Smith the pay raise he demanded, the Padres dealt him to the St. Louis Cardinals for shortstop Garry Templeton in February 1982. Whitey Herzog’s Cardinals, who emphasized speed and defense in spacious Busch Stadium, turned out to be a perfect match for the young defensive wizard. Because they rarely routed an opponent, the Cardinals relied heavily on Smith’s ability to thwart late-inning hits. With the Gold Glover at short, the Cardinals won it all in 1982 and enjoyed pennant-winning seasons in 1985 and 1987.

As the switch-hitting Smith gained big-league experience, his hitting began to improve. In 1985 he posted a .276 batting average — his best to date. His average would improve to .280 in 1986 and a career-high .303 in 1987. During Game Five of the 1985 League Championship Series, Smith hit his first left-handed home run in 3,009 at-bats in the bottom of the ninth off of Tom Niedenfuer to win the game.

Smith’s career year in 1987 was instrumental in the Cards’ World Series run. He hit .303 with 43 stolen bases, 75 RBI and 104 runs scored and finished second in the MVP balloting to the Cubs’ Andre Dawson. Smith’s performance, both at the plate and in the field, inspired an injury-riddled club to the top of the NL East. Prior to the Cardinals’ three home games during the 1987 World Series, Smith put on a show with an awesome flurry of cartwheels, handsprings, and back flips. Although St. Louis defeated Minnesota in all three games, they were unable to win in the raucous Metrodome and eventually fell to the Twins in seven games.

Smith continued his strong play into the ’90s. His eight miscues set an NL record for fewest errors in a season by a shortstop in 1991. The following year, he collected his 2,000th hit and stole his 500th base. He also won his thirteenth consecutive Gold Glove, breaking an NL record held by Willie Mays and Roberto Clemente. By this time, several “young Ozzies,” such as Ozzie Guillen and Omar Vizquel, were being heralded as his defensive heir.

When Smith announced that 1996 would be his last season, a special effort was made to let Smith, now platooning with Royce Clayton, play in each NL park as a farewell to his adoring fans throughout the country. NL fans had voted in Ozzie as their starting All-Star shortstop a record twelve times.

Near the end of his career, Smith was also lauded for his involvement in community service, winning both the Branch Rickey Award in 1994, and the Roberto Clemente Award in 1995. After his retirement, Smith turned in his glove but continued to please baseball fans with his exuberant personality by taking over for Mel Allen as the host of the long running “This Week in Baseball.”

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Best Season, 1980
In 1980 with the Padres, Ozzie set a major league record with 621 assists. He led the league in nearly every defensive category for shortstops. His range factor (number of balls he reached per game played) of 5.75 was well above the league average of 4.30. On the basepaths he set a career high with 57 steals.

View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject