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 earned career save number 469 and 35th save of the 1995 season during the California Angels 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners on September 27th, 1995 at the Kingdome in Seattle. Smith pitched a perfect ninth inning with one strikeout to preserve the win. This Official American League Gene A. Budig baseball displays heavy use with dirt stains and was used during this game. Smith signed his name in blue pen on the side panel. Inscriptions on this ball in black ink include “Save #469”, “9-27-95”, “ANGELS 200 000 000 –2” and “Seattle 000 000 000 – 0”.This game used and signed baseball comes with a LOA from Lee Smith.

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