When former closer Lee Smith retired from baseball in 1997, he was the all-time saves leader with 478. Only Trevor Hoffman and Mariano Rivera finished with more career saves than the big righty from Louisiana. Drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 2nd round of the 1975 MLB Amateur Draft, Smith made his debut with the “Northsiders” on September 1, 1980. His 18-year career saw him pitch for the Cubs, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles, California Angels, Cincinnati Reds and Montreal Expos.

     Smith picked up career save number 436 during the California Angels 5-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at SkyDome in Toronto on April 30th, 1995. Smith pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth inning to preserve the win. This Official American League Bobby Brown baseball was used during Smith’s 436th career save and displays solid use. The ball is toned and Smith signed his name in bold blue pen on the side panel. Inscriptions on this ball in light blue ink include “Save #436”, “4/30/95”, “CALIFORNIA 001 002 200 –5” and “TORONTO 012 000 000 – 3”.This game used and signed baseball comes with a LOA from Lee Smith.

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