JackHammers Add Veteran
Published on August 9, 2002 under Northern League (NL)
Joliet JackHammers News Release
JOLIET, IL â The Joliet JackHammers signed free agent Bubba Smith today. The veteran first baseman has played professional baseball for 12 seasons and most recently played this season for Monterrey of the Mexican League. In order to make room on the JackHammers roster, Matt Nokes will solely be in the managerial role. The JackHammers roster stands at 22. Smith will be in the lineup when the JackHammers begin their eight-game road trip in Winnipeg on Thursday night (radio: WJOL 1340-AM and via the team website).
The Mexican League season ended in late July, and Smith finished it with a .322 batting average (129-for-401), 25 doubles, 27 home runs, 77 runs scored and 86 RBI in 106 games played. He ranked 3rd in home runs, runs batted in and extra base hits (52). The Mexican League is considered the equivalent to Triple-A in organized baseball.
Smith has played from Single-A to Triple-A as well as in the Korean and Mexican Leagues. Through his 12 seasons (including this season) and 1,136 games, Smith is a career .276 (1,146-for-4,160) hitter with 248 home runs and 844 RBI.
Originally, the Seattle Mariners selected Smith in the 26th round of the '91 June free agent draft out of the University of Illinois where he was a teammate of current JackHammers RHP Rich Hyde and Morris native/current Anaheim Angel Scott Spiezio. Charles Lee (Bubba) Smith, 32, bats and throws right-handed. He stands 6'2" and weighs 225 pounds. He resides in Winston-Salem, NC. The fax of this press release will be accompanied by Smith's year-by-year statistics. The e-mail will include a Word attachment of those stats.
The JackHammers head to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada for four games versus the Winnipeg Goldeyes, and then they travel to Fargo, ND to play the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks in a four-game series. The JackHammers return to Silver Cross Field on Friday, August 16 to play the St. Paul Saints. For tickets, please call 815-726-BALL (2255) to stop at the Silver Cross Field ticket office.
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