Though Steve Garvey, Ron Cey, and Don Sutton received the lion's share of attention, no one wearing Dodger Blue during the late '70s-early '80s was more valuable to the team than Reggie Smith. Blessed with tremendous raw power, an advanced knowledge of the strike zone, and a cannon for an arm, Reggie was a critical part of three pennant-winning Dodger squads (the last of which—the '81 team—won the World Series). In 1977, Reggie led the NL in OPS (1.003) and finished fourth in the MVP balloting; he slotted fourth in the MVP chase the following year as well. And of the many great Dodgers of that era, Reggie was always my personal favorite.
Without further ado, here are my five favorite Reggie Smith cards.
5.
Great shot of Reggie (sans batting gloves) looking like he's about to unload on the next pitch he sees. This was from Donruss's inaugural set, which I always felt was a solid and somewhat underrated one.
4.
Reggie always cut an imposing figure in the batter's box. Here he is in the load phase of his swing, ready to launch one into the left field pavilion.
3.
Reggie was named to 3 All-Star teams during his time with the Dodgers. However, this was his only card with the All-Star designation. That alone makes his '81 Topps card a worthy addition to this list.
2.
1978 was the year I became a full-on baseball card junkie, and I was obsessed with getting a complete Dodger set. This Reggie Smith was one of the final two cards I needed. I don't think I've ever been more excited to pull a card from a pack than when I opened up the wax wrapper to find this card on top. It was like Christmas, the Fourth of July, and your first kiss all in one.
1.
Reggie Smith's 1977 card perfectly captures his potent swing and formidable strength. The stiff front leg; straight line from his head down to his back knee; maximum extension—picture perfect mechanics. I always imagined that this swing resulted in him depositing the pitch in the opponent's bullpen behind the right field fence at Dodger Stadium. This was Reggie's first card with the Dodgers, and it was his best.
Bonus: Best Non-Dodger Card
There's only one thing that needs to be said about this card: Bad-A** sideburns.
That concludes this blog's inaugural top 5 list. It won't be the last.
So it looks like Reggie was on the Bo sox early in his career. Did the dodgers trade for him or just sign him as a free agent? He sounds like a very underrated player. I never hear about him. Good post.
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