AA Sioux Falls Canaries

Birds sign veteran hitter

July 27, 2006 - American Association (AA)
Sioux Falls Canaries News Release


Sioux Falls, SD - The Sioux Falls Canaries have signed veteran outfielder and designated hitter Bubba Smith. The 16-year professional joins the team for Thursday's series opener in St. Paul.

"Bubba has proven himself throughout his career to be a prolific professional hitter," said Canaries Manager Mike Pinto. "My experience coaching him in Joliet for two seasons gives me great confidence that he is the perfect fit for our team. Not only does he hit for average and power, but he has been a fan favorite everywhere he has gone."

In his 16 years of professional baseball, Smith has played as high as the Triple-A level while also spending time in Korea and Mexico. Smith has a lifetime batting average of .278 with a career 330 home runs and 1147 RBI.

Smith was most recently playing for the Joliet Jackhammers in the Northern League. With Joliet this season, Smith hit .292 with four home runs and 25 RBI. In 2005, Smith hit .277 with 21 homers and 67 RBI for Monterrey in the Mexican League.

To make room for Smith, the Canaries released outfielder Edgard Clemente. Clemente recently returned to the Canaries line-up after missing a month due to a hamstring injury. In his last ten games, Clemente was 9-for-36 with one home run and 14 strikeouts.

"Edgard has been a consummate professional for the last two seasons in Sioux Falls," said Pinto. "It was a hard decision to let him go, but with Edgard's lingering injuries and an opportunity to replace him with a player of Bubba's caliber it was a move that we had to make."

The Canaries return home to Sioux Falls on Sunday when they will host the Lincoln Saltdogs at 2:05 p.m.

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