Joe Smith is a relief pitcher for the Cleveland Indians who spent his college days playing for Wright
State.
In his 11 years of MLB service, he has compiled 44 wins and has kept his ERA under three runs per game in his career.
A product of Amelia High School in Batavia, Ohio, Smith came to Wright State to play baseball, and by 2005 he was WSU’s team MVP for baseball.
In 2006 he was awarded the Horizon League pitcher of the year, as well as WSU’s most valuable male athlete across all sports teams.
Smith was drafted by the Mets in the third round of the 2006 MLB draft, which is fairly high for a relief pitcher. He has played for the Mets, Angels, Cubs, Blue Jays and currently for the Cleveland Indians.
In 2016 Smith was on the historic Chicago Cubs team that won their first World Series title in over 100 years, the longest title drought in Major League Baseball.
He was a free agent in 2017, and signed with the Toronto Blue Jays. He was ultimately traded to the Indians on July 31, 2017, MLB’s trade deadline.
As if being a part of history once wasn’t enough, Smith was a part of the Indians team who set the American League record for most consecutive wins at 22 in a row. This streak lasted from Aug 24-Sep 15, 2017.
Going into the 2017 postseason, the Indians will have home field advantage throughout the first two rounds of the playoffs.
Smith is a huge part of the Indians bullpen. His 3 quarters delivery makes it extremely hard for right handed batters to get a solid hit. He also has a career high in strikeouts per nine innings this season at a whopping 11.98. The MLB average in 2017 is 8.3 according to baseball-reference.
The Indians open up their postseason play on Thursday, Oct. 5 against the winner of the wildcard game between the Yankees and Twins.
