1977 Topps Baseball #14 - Tommy Smith

• Tommy Smith had a five-year major league career. This was his only card.
• Smith was a fifth-round pick of the Cleveland Indians in 1970
• Tommy was in the minors for at least part of every season from 1970-1977. He never batted below .263 and had a lifetime minor league batting average of .311. He was mostly a singles and doubles hitter and had some occasional power.
• Smith was a September call-up in 1973 and batted .244 in 14 games.
• Tommy started the 1974 season in AAA and was called up in August. He batted .097 in 31 at bats for the Indians.
• Smith was a September call-up again in 1975 and went 1 for 8 (.125) in limited action with the Indians
• In 1976 Tommy started in AAA and came up to the Indians in July. He batted .256 in 55 games.
• Smith was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the expansion draft. He made the club in 1977 and was used mostly as a late inning defensive replacement. Smith shuttled between Seattle and AAA Rochester. Rochester was the affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, but the Mariners didn't have a full system yet so some of their minor leaguers were loaned to other organizations.
• 1977 Stats: Went 7 for 27 (.259) with 0 HR and 4 RBI.  Batted .284 in 47 games for AAA Rochester.
• 1977 Highlights:
• March 17 - Went 4 for 4 with 4 RBI in an exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants
• April 13 - Entered the game as a pinch hitter with two out in the bottom of the 9th inning and singled in the tying run.
• April 14 - Was a pinch hitter again and singled in the go-ahead run in the 7th inning to make the score 2-1. The Mariners eventually won the game 4-3.
• Smith retired after the 1977 season.
• Other card blogs: 1974