Germany Smith
| Germany Smith | |||
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| Shortstop | |||
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Born: April 21, 1863 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
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Died: December 1, 1927 (aged 64) Altoona, Pennsylvania |
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| MLB debut | |||
| April 17, 1884, for the Altoona Mountain City | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 9, 1898, for the St. Louis Browns | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .243 | ||
| Hits | 1,592 | ||
| Runs | 907 | ||
| Teams | |||
George J. "Germany" Smith (April 21, 1863 – December 1, 1927) was an American Major League Baseball player from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He played primarily shortstop for five different teams spanning 15 seasons. He made his major league debut for Altoona Mountain City of the Union Association in 1884. After Altoona's team folded after just 25 games, he jumped to the Cleveland Blues of the National League. After the 1884 season, Cleveland then sold him, along with 6 other players, to the Brooklyn Bridegrooms for $4000.
On June 17, 1885, Germany reportedly committed seven errors intentionally, when his team decided to punish new pitcher, Phenomenal Smith, losing the game 18-5. All 18 runs against the brash left-hander were unearned‚ due to a total of 14 Brooklyn "errors". "Phenomenal" gave himself his nickname before he joined the team‚ saying that he was so good that he didn't need his teammates to win. The intentional misplays of his teammates caused club President Lynch to fine the guilty players $500 each‚ but he reluctantly agrees to release Smith to ensure team harmony.
A reliable shortstop in the days when a fielding average below .900 could lead the league, he did, in fact, lead the American Association in 1887, with an .886 average. When the AA folded in 1890, he, along with most members of the team transferred to the National League's new Brooklyn franchise. In 1891 John Montgomery Ward took over as manager and shortstop, effectively ending Smith's career with Brooklyn, so he left and joined the Cincinnati Reds. There he led NL shortstops in assists each year from 1891 to 1894. Smith later returned in 1897, when Cincinnati and Brooklyn swapped shortstops, with Tommy Corcoran moving to the Reds.
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