Former Dodgers switch-hitting outfielder and hitting coach Reggie Smith will be inducted into the Legends of Dodger Baseball on Saturday, August 15, the team announced on Friday.
Smith is the third straight Legends of Dodger Baseball inductee to come from the team that won three National League pennants in a five-year span, culminating in a World Series win in 1981. In 2024, outfielder Dusty Baker was inducted, followed by third baseman Ron Cey last year.
The Dodgers got Smith from the Cardinals in June 1976, and he roamed the outfield for Los Angeles through 1981, and made three (of his seven career) All-Star teams in his five full seasons with the Dodgers. Smith hit a career-high 32 home runs in 1977, the year the Dodgers became the first MLB team ever with four players to each hit 30 home runs. He finished fourth in National League MVP voting in 1977 and 1978, both pennant-winning years for Los Angeles.
Smith with the Dodgers hit .297/.387/.528 with 97 home runs and 89 doubles in 542 games, and his 152 OPS+ is the fourth-best in the 142-year history of the franchise, behind only Mike Piazza (160), Gary Sheffield (160), and Jack Fournier (157).
Smith’s 314 career home runs are ninth-most by a switch-hitter in major league history, and his 97 home runs for the Dodgers are most by any switch-hitter in franchise lore.
After his playing days, Smith was a minor league coach for the Dodgers from 1989-93, and was the team’s major league hitting coach from 1995-98.
“I tell people I was a Dodger before I actually joined the team,” Smith said in a press release. “Being a young, African American player, I had such respect for Jackie Robinson while growing up. When the Dodgers came to Los Angeles, we had the opportunity to see them play. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see Jackie play because he had retired. He was my boyhood hero, so when I became a Dodger, it was very special.”
Legends of Dodger Baseball get a plaque in the center field plaza at Dodger Stadium. Smith’s induction will come on Saturday, August 15 before the Dodgers’ game against the Brewers at Dodger Stadium.
He’s the 10th to be inducted since its inception in 2019:
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