Lee Smith

リー・スミス　/　りー・すみす

American baseball player

December 4, 1957 (age 68)　・　Shreveport, Louisiana, United States

Louisiana
baseball player
basketball player

My Take

Lee Smith is one of those guys who defined what a closer was supposed to look like before anyone even had a clear definition for the role. Standing 6-foot-6 out of Shreveport, Louisiana, he was genuinely intimidating on the mound — a big, hard-throwing right-hander who made batters uncomfortable just by walking out of the bullpen. The fact that he was the first pitcher ever to reach 400 saves, and held the all-time saves record for over a decade, tells you everything about his durability and consistency across eight different teams. What I always find underappreciated about him is how long it took Cooperstown to recognize him — he finally got inducted in 2019 via the Modern Baseball Era Committee, and it felt overdue. A quiet legend who just kept getting outs.

Overview

Lee Arthur Smith (born December 4, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player who was a pitcher for 18 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) for eight teams. Serving mostly as a relief pitcher during his career, he was a dominant closer, was the first pitcher to reach 400 saves, and held the major league record for career saves from 1993 until 2006, when Trevor Hoffman passed his total of 478.

1. Profile

Name (English): Lee Smith
Name (Japanese): リー・スミス
Reading: りー・すみす
Born: December 4, 1957 (age 68)
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac: Sagittarius / Rooster
Origin: Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
Blood type: Private
Height: Private
Agency: Private
Occupation: baseball player / basketball player

2. Background

Elementary school: Private
Junior high: Private
High school: Private
University: Northwestern State University

3. Relationships

Spouse: Private
Children: Private
Parents: Private
Siblings: Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

6. Links

Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9F%E3%82%B9