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| Zane Smith | |
|---|---|
.webp) Smith with theAtlanta Bravesc. 1986 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1960-12-28)December 28, 1960 (age 64) Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 10, 1984, for the Atlanta Braves | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 5, 1996, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 100–115 |
| Earned run average | 3.74 |
| Strikeouts | 1,011 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Zane William Smith (born December 28, 1960) is an American former professionalbaseball player.
Smith, a left-handed pitcher, played collegiately atIndiana State University. He was drafted by theAtlanta Braves in the 3rd round of the1982 amateur draft and made his Major League debut on September 10, 1984, for Atlanta. His first successful season was 1987 with the Braves, when he led the team with 15 wins, nearly twice as many as any other Braves pitcher on a team with only 69 wins. He was among the league leaders in wins (tied 5th), innings pitched (5th), games started (tied 1st), complete games (4th) and shutouts (tied 3rd).
Smith was traded from Atlanta to theMontreal Expos on July 2, 1989, forSergio Valdez,Nate Minchey and minor leaguer Kevin Dean. Just over a year later, on August 8, 1990, Smith was traded to thePittsburgh Pirates forScott Ruskin,Willie Greene andMoisés Alou. The trade allowed the Pirates to hold off theNew York Mets down the stretch and win theNational League Eastern Division pennant. Smith contributed by winning 6 games, 3 of them complete games, 2 of those shutouts, while losing only 2, and compiling a 1.30 ERA. It was during this season that Smith had his best performance, a 1 hit complete-game shutout of the Mets in the first game of adoubleheader sweep that gave the Pirates a 2.5 game lead over the Mets.
Smith played with the Pirates through the 1994 season before signing as a free agent with theBoston Red Sox on April 18, 1995. Smith did not have much success during the 1995 season for Boston, compiling a 5.61 ERA and an 8–8 record in 24 starts. The next offseason, he returned to the Pirates for a salary that was significantly reduced from the $3.125 million he earned in 1994. Smith pitched his final career game for the Pirates on July 5, 1996; he would be released by the Pirates the following day.
On May 1, 1986, Smith struck out 12 Mets to end New York's club record tying 11 game win streak.
On April 17, 1988, Smith got Atlanta's first victory of the season, ending a 10-game season-opening losing streak that set an MLB record.
On October 3, 1995, Smith gave up a walk-off home run toTony Peña to end Game 1 of the1995 American League Division Series.
On June 7, 1996, Smith recorded the 100th and final win of his career, a complete-game shutout at San Diego.
Smith has three daughters and lives near Atlanta.[1]
Zane enjoys listening to hard-rock music.[2]
, orBaseball Almanac
