The Wizard: The Greatest Baseball Player in Cal Poly History?
2/18/2021 9:30:00 AM | Baseball, General
Whenever Ozzie Smith is brought up among those in the baseball world or fans, he is widely regarded as one of if not the best defensive shortstop of all time, earning him the nickname "The Wizard".
Before the Hall of Fame MLB career though, before all the accolades he earned from his illustrious career that lasted nearly two decades, Smith was a Cal Poly Mustang.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Smith moved to Los Angeles where he attended Locke High School. While most may think that a guy who had as great of a career as he did must have been a first-round pick out of high school, that wasn't the case.
While pro scouts and college recruiters came to watch him, he wasn't drafted coming out of high school and was not highly pursued amongst colleges. However, Tom Hinkle, then an assistant coach for the Mustangs, saw him play a few times and gave him the shot other schools didn't.
"As a non-drafted player, there wasn't a lot of schools interested," Smith recalls. "I received a partial academic scholarship from Cal Poly with the understanding that I could be a walk on to the baseball program."
At the time, Cal Poly was a Division II baseball program and didn't have much in the way of scholarship money to give out.
As a freshman, Smith started out playing on the junior varsity team back when schools had both JV and varsity programs. Midway through that season, the starting varsity shortstop got hurt and Smith was called upon to step in. He made the most of the chance and was so good that even when the prior starting shortstop returned from injury, he was moved to first base to keep Smith the starting shortstop for the rest of that season and the rest of his career.
One of Smith's biggest influences and teachers at Cal Poly was then head coach Berdy Harr, who led the Mustang baseball program from 1972-83 and was inducted into the Cal Poly Hall of Fame in 1999.
"Berdy Harr was one of the people that had a big influence on my work ethic," Smith regards. "It's where I got the philosophy 'absolutely nothing is good enough if it can be made better, and better is never good enough if it can be made best'. I carry that beyond my baseball life."
Smith was an All-American and earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first-team honors twice during his Mustang career. After his junior year in 1976, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the seventh round. However, Smith did not sign and returned to Cal Poly for his senior year.
In his senior year in '77, Smith led the Mustangs to a school-record 41 wins and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. To this day, he holds school records for career stolen bases (110), stolen bases in a season (44) and career at-bats (754).
During his time at Cal Poly, Smith was a member of the Black Student Council and says his favorite memories were watching the growth of the football program, going to football and basketball games, and just how beautiful the setting of the university is in the mountains.
In 1977, Smith was drafted in the fourth round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. After four years with the Padres, Smith went on to play 15 years for the St. Louis Cardinals.
During his 19-year MLB career, Smith was an All-Star 15 times and won 13 Gold Gloves. He helped lead the Cardinals to three National League pennants and a World Series title in 1982. At the plate, the switch-hitter hit .262 with 2,460 hits, 402 doubles and 1,257 runs scored. He also stole 580 bases and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1987, the same year he was the runner-up in the NL MVP voting.
He was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002. Smith also had his No. 1 jersey retired by the Cardinals and was named to the Cardinals Hall of Fame. In addition, he has also been named to several other halls of fame around the country, including the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Smith was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987 and Ozzie Smith Plaza at the Cal Poly Sports Complex was named in his honor in 2003. He also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cal Poly in 2002.
Before the Hall of Fame MLB career though, before all the accolades he earned from his illustrious career that lasted nearly two decades, Smith was a Cal Poly Mustang.
Born in Mobile, Alabama, Smith moved to Los Angeles where he attended Locke High School. While most may think that a guy who had as great of a career as he did must have been a first-round pick out of high school, that wasn't the case.While pro scouts and college recruiters came to watch him, he wasn't drafted coming out of high school and was not highly pursued amongst colleges. However, Tom Hinkle, then an assistant coach for the Mustangs, saw him play a few times and gave him the shot other schools didn't.
"As a non-drafted player, there wasn't a lot of schools interested," Smith recalls. "I received a partial academic scholarship from Cal Poly with the understanding that I could be a walk on to the baseball program."
At the time, Cal Poly was a Division II baseball program and didn't have much in the way of scholarship money to give out.
As a freshman, Smith started out playing on the junior varsity team back when schools had both JV and varsity programs. Midway through that season, the starting varsity shortstop got hurt and Smith was called upon to step in. He made the most of the chance and was so good that even when the prior starting shortstop returned from injury, he was moved to first base to keep Smith the starting shortstop for the rest of that season and the rest of his career.
One of Smith's biggest influences and teachers at Cal Poly was then head coach Berdy Harr, who led the Mustang baseball program from 1972-83 and was inducted into the Cal Poly Hall of Fame in 1999.
"Berdy Harr was one of the people that had a big influence on my work ethic," Smith regards. "It's where I got the philosophy 'absolutely nothing is good enough if it can be made better, and better is never good enough if it can be made best'. I carry that beyond my baseball life."
Smith was an All-American and earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Association first-team honors twice during his Mustang career. After his junior year in 1976, he was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the seventh round. However, Smith did not sign and returned to Cal Poly for his senior year.
In his senior year in '77, Smith led the Mustangs to a school-record 41 wins and a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs. To this day, he holds school records for career stolen bases (110), stolen bases in a season (44) and career at-bats (754).
During his time at Cal Poly, Smith was a member of the Black Student Council and says his favorite memories were watching the growth of the football program, going to football and basketball games, and just how beautiful the setting of the university is in the mountains.
In 1977, Smith was drafted in the fourth round of the MLB draft by the San Diego Padres. After four years with the Padres, Smith went on to play 15 years for the St. Louis Cardinals.During his 19-year MLB career, Smith was an All-Star 15 times and won 13 Gold Gloves. He helped lead the Cardinals to three National League pennants and a World Series title in 1982. At the plate, the switch-hitter hit .262 with 2,460 hits, 402 doubles and 1,257 runs scored. He also stole 580 bases and won a Silver Slugger Award in 1987, the same year he was the runner-up in the NL MVP voting.
He was elected to the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2002. Smith also had his No. 1 jersey retired by the Cardinals and was named to the Cardinals Hall of Fame. In addition, he has also been named to several other halls of fame around the country, including the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Smith was inducted into the Cal Poly Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987 and Ozzie Smith Plaza at the Cal Poly Sports Complex was named in his honor in 2003. He also received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Cal Poly in 2002.
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 17th, 2025
Sunday, May 18
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 16th, 2025
Saturday, May 17
Cal Poly vs. UCR, Baseball Highlights -- May 15th, 2025
Friday, May 16
Cal Poly vs. Pepperdine, Baseball Highlights -- May 6th, 2025
Wednesday, May 07
