1984
Born March 22, 1984
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Joe Smith Marquee
b. March 22, 1984 · New York Mets 2007–2008, Cleveland Indians 2009–2013, 2017, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 2014–2016, Chicago Cubs 2016, Toronto Blue Jays 2017, Houston Astros 2018–2019, 2021, Seattle Mariners 2021, Minnesota Twins 2022
He came out of Wright State throwing from a low sidearm slot that made him nearly impossible for right-handed hitters to pick up, and he never started a game across fifteen major-league seasons. Cleveland got the most out of him: five years and 82 games in his first full season, 2008.
Fifteen seasons gave him 55 wins, 30 saves, 762 innings and a 3.14 earned run average across 866 appearances, sixth-most in the game's history. He pitched for eight organizations and was still effective at thirty-eight, with Minnesota in 2022.
A blood clot in his throwing shoulder in 2018 threatened to end his career; he had surgery and pitched three more seasons. He is not on a Hall of Fame ballot.
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | NYM | 54 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2008 | NYM | 82 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| 2009 | CLE | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2010 | CLE | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2011 | CLE | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2012 | CLE | 72 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2013 | CLE | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2014 | LAA | 76 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2015 | LAA | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2016 | CHC/LAA | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2017 | CLE/TOR | 59 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2018 | HOU | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2019 | HOU | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2021 | HOU/SEA | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2022 | MIN | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | — | 866 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | NYM | 3 | 2 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 44.1 | 48 | 17 | 21 | 45 | 3.45 |
| 2008 | NYM | 6 | 3 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 63.1 | 51 | 25 | 31 | 52 | 3.55 |
| 2009 | CLE | 0 | 0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 30 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 3.44 |
| 2010 | CLE | 2 | 2 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 30 | 17 | 24 | 32 | 3.83 |
| 2011 | CLE | 3 | 3 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 67.0 | 52 | 15 | 21 | 45 | 2.01 |
| 2012 | CLE | 7 | 4 | 72 | 0 | 0 | 67.0 | 53 | 22 | 25 | 53 | 2.96 |
| 2013 | CLE | 6 | 2 | 70 | 0 | 3 | 63.0 | 54 | 16 | 23 | 54 | 2.29 |
| 2014 | LAA | 7 | 2 | 76 | 0 | 15 | 74.2 | 45 | 15 | 15 | 68 | 1.81 |
| 2015 | LAA | 5 | 5 | 70 | 0 | 5 | 65.1 | 64 | 26 | 19 | 57 | 3.58 |
| 2016 | CHC/LAA | 2 | 5 | 54 | 0 | 6 | 52.0 | 47 | 20 | 18 | 40 | 3.46 |
| 2017 | CLE/TOR | 3 | 0 | 59 | 0 | 1 | 54.0 | 46 | 20 | 10 | 71 | 3.33 |
| 2018 | HOU | 5 | 1 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 45.2 | 34 | 19 | 12 | 46 | 3.74 |
| 2019 | HOU | 1 | 0 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 19 | 5 | 5 | 22 | 1.80 |
| 2021 | HOU/SEA | 4 | 4 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 39.2 | 47 | 22 | 8 | 34 | 4.99 |
| 2022 | MIN | 1 | 1 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 27.1 | 33 | 14 | 9 | 17 | 4.61 |
| Career | — | 55 | 34 | 866 | 0 | 30 | 762.1 | 653 | 266 | 254 | 666 | 3.14 |
On this day & linked events
2007
Major-league debut: Joe Smith
Joe Smith made a major-league debut on April 1, 2007.
2022
Final major-league game: Joe Smith
Joe Smith played a final major-league game on August 2, 2022.