Jason Smith #26

Jason William Smith...graduated from Demopolis High School in Alabama in 1995...he and his wife, Charlotte, reside in Meridian, Mississippi during the off-season.

2007

Claimed off waivers from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization on July 11... provided sock off the bench and versatility, playing every infield position for the Royals...Has 17 career home runs as he is just the fourth Major Leaguer since 1950 to hit 16 of his first 17 home runs on the road...his blast on Sept. 21 at Detroit allowed him to join Dick Groat, Hank Aaron and Eddie Yost to hit 16 of first 17 away from home...Jason's lone home homer was on Aug. 11, 2006, in Colorado's Coors Field...Began his roller coaster 2007 season as the Toronto Blue Jays selection in the Rule 5 Draft on Dec. 8, 2006...came from the Cubs organization...Started the season with the Blue Jays before being designated for assignment on May 15...was claimed by the Diamondbacks on May 16 and appeared in 2 games for Arizona before being placed on the 15-day D.L. with appendicitis on May 19...made rehab appearances at both Visalia and Tucson before being claimed by KC...Score a run as a pinch hitter in his KC debut on July 13 at Cleveland...Hit a home run in his first Royals start on July 15 at Cleveland...Homered twice for the third time in his career on Aug. 18 at Oakland (July 9, 2004 at Minnesota and April 9, 2006 at San Diego)...also tied his career high with 4 RBI (also April 9, 2006 at San Diego)...Equaled his career best with 4 RBI on Sept. 4 at Texas (3rd time).

2005

Made the Tigers Opening Day roster out of spring training, but split the season between Detroit and Triple-A Toledo...batted .190 with no HR and 2 RBI in 27 games for the Tigers...made 12 starts, 6 at 2nd base, 5 at short, and one at 3rd base...also played one game at first base...hit safely in 7 of 9 games with an at-bat from April 30-May 26, batting .333 (8-for-24)...was designated for assignment on June 1 and was outrighted to Toledo on June 3...after 8 games for the Mud Hens, was purchased by Detroit on June 14...hit .154 (2-for-13) in 6 games for the Tigers before being designated for assignment again on July 4...had contract outrighted to Toledo on July 7 and spent rest of the year at Triple-A...hit .230 with 6 HR and 25 RBI in 55 games for the Mud Hens, playing at least one game at every position except pitcher and catcher...batted .286 (10-for-35) vs. lefties...hit .320 (8-for-25) with RISP and 2 outs...went 7-for-14 over final 4 games to raise final average from .208 to .230...played 7 games in International League playoffs.

2004

Opened the season with Triple A Toledo before joining Detroit for the remainder of the season after having his contract purchased on May 13...Served as the starting third baseman at Toledo, hitting safely in 25 of his 31 games with an at-bat...Fared better against righthanded pitching with Toledo, batting .316 (30x95) with seven doubles, two triples and three home runs, while hitting .111 (3x27) with a double against lefthanders...Appeared in a career-high 61 games for the Tigers, establishing career bests in nearly every offensive category...Collected a career-high three hits on May 29 versus Baltimore...Drilled his first home run of the season, a solo shot, on June 6 at Minnesota...his first major league home run since going deep at Seattle on May 22, 2002...Ripped a pair of solo home runs for the first multi-home run game of his career on July 9 at Minnesota...Two RBI on July 9 at Minnesota matched a career high...also collected two RBI on August 20 versus Seattle, September 11 versus Minnesota and September 13 versus Minnesota...Successfully executed a pair of suicide squeeze bunts, first on September 11 versus Minnesota and again on September 27 versus Chicago...Collected at least one RBI in four straight games September 11-14, driving in six runs over that span...Batted .308 (8x26) with a home run and three RBI while hitting in the leadoff spot and .378 (14x37) with four home runs when leading off an inning.

2003

2003 SEASON Earned International League post-season all-star honors for Triple A Durham, spending the entire season there with the exception of a four-day stint with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays June 4-7.

Led the International League with 14 triples, while finishing third with 128 strikeouts and fourth with 515 atbats.

Tied for fourth among all Devil Rays minor leaguers with 71 RBI and his .285 batting average was eighth-best.

Only player in the minor leagues with at least 20 doubles, 10 triples and 15 home runs.

Batted .330 (29x88) with 15 runs scored, four doubles, three triples, three home runs and 15 RBI in 24 games during April.

Posted a 13-game hitting streak May 2-17, batting .352 (19x54) with five runs scored, a double, four home runs and 14 RBI.

Belted two home runs, including a grand slam, and drove in five runs against Rochester on May 6.

Tied for second in the International League with 61 total bases during May, while his five home runs tied for fourth-most and 21 RBI tied for fifth-most...hit .304 (35x115) in 27 games during the month.

Recalled by Tampa Bay from Durham on June 4...started at third base on June 5 at Wrigley Field against the Cubs in his only game before being optioned back to Durham on June 7.

Hit safely in 17-of-19 games June 23-July 18...over the 19-game stretch, he hit .333 (25x75) with 12 runs scored, two doubles, three triples, two home runs and 11 RBI.

Homered and drove in two runs as the International League's starting shortstop in the Triple A All-Star Game on July 16 in Memphis, TN.

In 31 games during August, he batted .275 (33x120) with 17 runs scored, seven doubles, four triples, two home runs and 11 RBI.

Fared better against righties in International League action, hitting .302 (117x387)...batted .234 (30x128) with lefthanders on the mound.

Played in six games for Durham during the International League playoffs and hit .333 (8x24) with three doubles and two RBI.