Hal Smith

Who is Hal Smith?

Harold Raymond Smith is a former catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates. Smith batted and threw right-handed. He debuted on May 2, 1956, and played his final game on July 8, 1965.

Smith was a competent catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals during six years. An All-Star in 1957 and 1959, he was disabled in 1961 after suffering heart ailments. In 1965, he appeared in four games for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Smith's disability cleared the way for Tim McCarver to become the Cardinals new regular catcher.

In a seven-season career, Smith was a .258 hitter with 23 home runs and 172 RBI in 570 games. As a catcher, he appeared in 548 games and recorded 2810 putouts, 247 assists, and only 33 errors in 2890 total chances for a .989 fielding percentage.

Smith also worked a long time for the Cardinals organization as major league coach, minor league manager and scout, and coached for the Pirates, Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.

Smith is the subject of a biography, "The Barling Darling: Hal Smith In American Baseball", written by Billy D Higgins.