Roy Smith (1980s pitcher)


Le Roy Purdy Smith is an American former professional baseball pitcher and executive. He played all or part of eight seasons in Major League Baseball from until. He has served as a scout for the New York Mets.

Playing career

Smith was drafted in the 3rd round of the 1979 Major League Baseball draft by the Philadelphia Phillies. After three seasons in the Phillies' farm system, Smith and two other players, were traded to the Cleveland Indians late in the season for pitcher John Denny.
After another season and a half in the minors, he made his major league debut on June 23,, against the Seattle Mariners, a game in which he also picked up his first major league win.
Smith split between the major and minor leagues once again, then was traded in the following off-season to the Minnesota Twins in a four-player deal. He continued to shuttle between the majors and minors for three more seasons before finally making the majors to stay in. He had his best season that year, going 10–6 with a 3.92 ERA. He would fall to 5–10 with an ERA nearly a run higher the following season, and was released.
Smith pitched one more season in the majors for the Baltimore Orioles in. He continued to pitch in the minors until, when he retired.

Baseball executive

After spending his final season with the Buffalo Bisons in the Pittsburgh Pirates system, the Pirates made him a scout in 1994. He began as a scouting supervisor for the Pirates in the New England area. In 1995, Smith became scouting supervisor of the southwest portion of the United States. He then moved into the team's front office, first serving as special assistant for the general manager in 1988 before serving as assistant general manager from until. He then moved on to the Los Angeles Dodgers. There, he worked as their Vice-President for Scouting and Player Development for two seasons, but left the organization along with his boss, Paul DePodesta, and returned to the Pirates. He later worked as a scout for the Toronto Blue Jays. He became a scout for the Mets in November 2010.