Ex-Cub Lee Smith Voted into Hall of Fame
RP Lee Smith, a member of the Chicago Cubs from 1980-1987, was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Today’s Game Committee (one of four Eras Committees formerly known as the Veterans Committee) at the MLB Winter Meetings on Sunday. The Today’s Game and other Eras Committees consider former MLB players “no longer eligible for election by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA)[.]”
Happy birthday to #Cubs all-time saves leader, Lee Smith! pic.twitter.com/DEStMugx9s
â?? Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 4, 2018
Smith played a total of 18 seasons in the MLB with a career ERA of 3.03 and ERA+ of 132, becoming the all-time MLB saves leader in 1993 and finishing his career with 478 saves before his record was broken by Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman in 2006. The current all-time saves leader is former Yankee Mariano Rivera, with 652 career saves.
- Mariano Rivera (652)
- Trevor Hoffman (601)
- Lee Smith (478)
- Francisco RodrÃguez (437)
- John Franco (424)
Out of the top five all-time saves leaders, only Hoffman is currently a member of the Hall of Fame. Rivera is expected to join Smith as a 2019 inductee following the BBWAA vote this winter.
Featured Image: Jonathan Weiss / Shutterstock.com
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