Interviews with Dead Heroes: Houston Astros' Dave Smith

Harold Friend

Dave Smith was the ace of the Houston Astros bullpen in 1986.

He had a fine regular season, saving 33 games, but in the playoffs against New York's most beloved team, the New York Mets, Smith came up short, which turned the playoff series around.

I spoke to Dave at an autograph show a few years ago when the New York Yankees were playing the Mets in the World Series. He spoke about many things, including an umpire's call that upset the entire Astros' team.

Dave Smith passed away on Dec. 17, 2008.

Doc Friend : Describe how you felt coming into the third game of the playoffs. For those fans who don't remember, the series was tied at one game each, and you came into the game with the Astros leading, 5-4 in the ninth inning.

Dave Smith : I was confident that I would save the game, but that really isn't saying much because any relief pitcher worth his salt never thinks that he will blow a save. It's a thought that you can't allow to enter your mind.

Doc Friend : The first batter was Wally Backman, and to this day, you believe that you retired him, but that's not what happened. Explain.

Dave Smith : We all knew that Backman would do anything to get on base. He was a tough hitter who would take a walk as soon as a single.

Denny Walling at third and Glenn Davis at first played slightly in to guard against the bunt, and that's just what happened.

Backman didn't surprise Davis when he dragged a bunt up the first base line. Glenn fielded the ball cleanly, but when he went to tag Backman, Wally lunged into foul ground to avoid the tag. Then he slid into first.

He was clearly out of the baseline. He knew, just as I know, that you can't run out of the baseline to avoid a tag.

Doc Friend : What happened when manager Hal Lanier came out of the dugout to argue the call?

Dave Smith : Hal hit the nail on the head. He claimed that Backman had run out of the double chalk lines that mark the base path for the last 45 feet before first base.

First base umpire Dutch Rennert didn't see it that way. He said that Backman was past Davis when he went outside the lines.

After the game, I remember hearing Mets' manager Davey Johnson telling reporters that he would have argued as hard as Hal had.

Doc Friend : How were you affected on the mound?

Dave Smith : The entire team was upset. I didn't lose my concentration, but I was aggravated that instead of one out and no one on, they had the tying run on first with no outs.

Doc Friend : Danny Heep pinch-hit for Rafael Santana and your third pitch got away from Alan Ashby for a passed ball, moving Backman to second with no outs.

Dave Smith : It was just one of those things. Don't ask if the call that went against us was a factor, because it wasn't. I retired Heep on a fly ball to center, keeping Backman at second.

Doc Friend : Do you think that you would have given up the home run if Backman had been called out, and you were pitching to Lenny Dykstra with two outs and the bases empty?

Dave Smith : Who knows? But I do know that it is much tougher to pitch to a hitter with a man on second, for obvious reasons. We change the signs with a man on second, and I have to be sure to hide the ball until the last second.

All that is fine, but if Backman had been called out, Dykstra's home run would have only tied the game, not won it.

My mistake was throwing Dykstra a fork ball on the second pitch.

As soon as it left my hand, I remembered that in July, I faced him with a runner on second, threw him a fast ball, and he hit it for a double.

I should have known that he would figure he wouldn't see a fast ball again in this situation after I showed him a fast ball out of the strike zone on the first pitch. That was my mistake.

Doc Friend : After the game, Lanier was criticized for bringing you in to replace Charlie Kerfeld, who had retired his three batters in the eighth inning.

Dave Smith : Remember, this was 1986. There were no "closers." We were relief pitchers. That's why some reporters thought Kerfeld shouldn't have been taken out. There were no "eighth inning men" in those days.

Lanier said it best. "There's no reason not to bring in my No. 1 man."

   

Read 0 Comments

Download the app for comments Get the B/R app to join the conversation

Install the App
×
Bleacher Report
(120K+)