Tommy Smith

Tommy Alexander Smith (August 1, 1948 – November 1, 2024) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He played five seasons in the majors, four for the Cleveland Indians and one for the Seattle Mariners.

Playing career Smith attended Albemarle High School in Albemarle, North Carolina, then North Carolina State University, where he played college baseball for the Wolfpack. He was the starting pitcher in a 1968 College World Series game, losing to the USC Trojans. In 1969, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Canalmen of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.

Cleveland selected Smith in the third round of the 1970 MLB draft. He spent the next several seasons in their farm system, seeing only brief stints with the major league club in each season from 1973 until 1975. He hit an inside-the-park home run for his first MLB home run on September 11, 1973. The following January, he broke an arm while playing basketball. In 1976, Smith got his first real shot at big league playing time, playing 55 games and batting .256.