finalyear death_date debutyear statvalue finalteam birth_date death_place finaldate image statlabel debutteam name throws caption birth_place debutdate bats position article_title
1891 3 april 1952 1884 54-74 3.89 519 philadelphia phillies 12 december 1864 manchester , new hampshire june 15 phenomenal smith -lrb- old judge -rrb- . jpeg win -- loss record earned run average strikeouts philadelphia athletics phenomenal smith left smith , c. 1888 philadelphia , pennsylvania april 18 left pitcher phenomenal smith

phenomenal smith

john francis `` phenomenal '' smith -lrb- december 12 , 1864 -- april 3 , 1952 -rrb- , born as john francis gammon , was an american professional baseball player and player-manager from 1884 to 1905 .
he played eight seasons in major league baseball , principally as a pitcher , for six different clubs .
in his eight seasons in the major leagues , smith appeared as a pitcher in 140 games and compiled a 54-74 -lrb- .422 -rrb- win-loss record with a 3.89 earned run average -lrb- era -rrb- and 519 strikeouts .
he saw his most extensive playing time with the baltimore orioles of the american association , compiling a 41-50 win-loss record during the 1887 and 1888 seasons .
smith later served as a player-manager in the minor leagues from the early 1890s through 1905 .
he was credited with discovering christy mathewson in 1899 and developing him into an outstanding pitcher during the 1900 season .
