Ozzie Smith reinforces sentiment to honor game's defensive stars - Warm Up Tosses - Brief Article

Baseball Digest, Oct, 2002 by John Kuenster

WHEN OZZIE SMITH WAS INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME LAST JULY, his admission bolstered the sentiments of many observers that baseball should do a little more to honor the defensive stars of the game.

The former gifted shortstop never hit more than six home runs in a season, so his plaque does not adorn the walls of the Cooperstown shrine because of what he did with his bat.

The plaque is there because of what he did with his glove.

"The guys who get into the Hall of Fame are the guys who hit the ball out of the park," Smith said after his election was announced earlier this year. "I think my going in reinforces the defensive aspect of the game."

Elected to the Hall in his first year of eligibility, Smith didn't have to wait as long to be enshrined as second baseman Bill Mazeroski, another premier defensive player who received the needed votes in 2001 from the Veterans Committee 29 years after he retired from the game.

Perhaps their elections will make it easier for other defensive standouts to gain similar recognition in future balloting.

In his 19 years in the National League (1978-1996), Smith won seven fielding titles, one with the Padres and six with the Cardinals.

While the titles placed him in a special category, they did not truly reflect his range and ability to launch and complete plays on grounders that continually took runs away from other teams.

He didn't get the nickname "The Wizard of Oz" for nothing.

"There's no statistic kept for saving runs," Smith said. "Good defense puts your offense in a position to win."

And, that's what he did for Cardinal teams that marched to pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987 under manager Whitey Herzog.

It was Herzog who stressed the importance of solid defense, coupled with speed, line-drive hitting and a deep bullpen in those championship years when the Cardinals played "Whiteyball."

Smith remains grateful to Herzog for engineering the deal that moved him from San Diego to St. Louis in February 1982 in a trade that sent Garry Templeton to the Padres.

"Whitey came out to San Diego and told me he wanted me to play for the Cardinals and that they could win the pennant. He was right about that," Smith said.

In all, Ozzie won 13 Gold Gloves for defensive excellence, more than any other shortstop in the majors since the award was instituted in 1957. He played 2,511 games at the position, second only to all-time leader Luis Aparicio's 2,581 games. He also holds major league records for most career assists by a shortstop, 8,375; double plays, 1,590, and chances accepted, 12,624.

What he still takes pride in is that he worked hard to develop not only his skills on defense, but also as a hitter and base stealer to make himself a more accomplished player.

"I didn't want people to look at me as a one-dimensional player," he added.

He averaged only .238 as a hitter in his first seven years in the league, but he kept improving and closed out his career with a .262 mark.

Although he gained fame for his double back flips before games (which gave Cardinal owner Gussie Busch a nervous stomach for fear his prized shortstop would injure himself) and won admiration for his unbelievable plays in the field, Smith admits one of his most memorable moments came as a hitter.

In the 1985 National League Championship Series against the Dodgers, the score was tied, 2-2, in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 5.

With one out, Smith, a switch-hitter, came to the plate against Tom Niedenfuer and slammed an unexpected home run down the right field line at Busch Stadium to give the Cardinals a 3-2 victory.

"I guess you'd have to say I'm an unlikely hero," Smith said after his blast which was only the 14th homer of his career and the first he ever hit as a left-handed batter.

Smith leaped for joy when he rounded first and saw the ball hit off the cement pillar above the right field wall.

The Cardinals went on to beat the Dodgers in Game 6 and moved on to the World Series against the Royals.

After his game-winning homer, Smith was asked for his thoughts.

"When you're young," he told reporters, "you dream of hitting a home run in the bottom of the ninth to help your team win. But, I have to deal with reality. I'm 5-9, 155 pounds, not 6-3. I can't go into a bar and clean out the joint, just like I can't tell you that I'm going up to the plate and try to hit home runs.

"I was just trying to hit a line drive. I guess I made a mistake."

It was a "mistake" that represents one of the highlights of Smith's Hall of Fame career that was built primarily on exciting, acrobatic fielding plays.

Ozzie admits one of his favorite defensive plays came against the Braves in 1978 when he was a rookie with the Padres.

With two outs, Jeff Burroughs of Atlanta hit a ground ball up the middle. Smith dove to his left and as the ball caromed into the air, he reached high, grabbed it barehanded and threw Burroughs out at first.

"I prided myself on making not just the great play," Smith concluded, "but on concentrating on the routine plays, too."

In focusing attention on the defensive phase of the game, Ozzie Smith has opened the door a little wider for future Hall of Fame shortstop candidates who are known more their glove work than their ability as hitters with home run power.