Whitey Herzog’s rebuild of the St. Louis Cardinals in the early 1980s is most remembered for the Simmons-Fingers-Vuckovich mega-deal with the Milwaukee Brewers, the acquisition of Bruce Sutter from the Cubs, and the Garry Templeton-Ozzie Smith swap with the San Diego Padres. However, Herzog’s shrewd pickup of Lonnie Smith proved to have an enormous impact on the 1982 Redbirds.

Lonnie with the Phillies

Smith came up in the Philadelphia Phillies organization after being chosen third overall in the 1974 June amateur draft. Two years later, the 20-year-old outfielder catapulted to Triple-A Oklahoma City, where he produced an impressive .309/.390/.445 slash line for the 89ers. His manager, Hall of Famer Jim Bunning, heaped praise on the young outfielder: “He’s got the best instincts I’ve seen in any young player since Willie Mays.”

The ’77 Phils boasted an outfield corps of Greg Luzinski, Garry Maddox, Jay Johnstone, Jerry Martin, and Bake McBride—all in the primes of their careers. So Smith, whose defense was not yet major-league caliber, returned to Oklahoma for a second season. His ’77 offensive totals were not quite as robust—.277/.347/.373—but the speedster stole 45 bases in 52 attempts. Smith perhaps lost some luster in the eyes of Phillies brass. “For a kid with his tools, he had a very average year,” assessed general manager Paul Owens.

When the Phils returned the same group of outfielders in ’78, Smith was sent back to Triple A for a third season. He returned to top-prospect form, hitting .315 with a .411 on-base percentage and 69 steals. He got his first cup of coffee that September and seemed to be poised for a jump to the majors.

Lonnie made Philadelphia’s opening day roster in ’79. However, he found himself on the bench after misplaying a pair of slicing line drives in the home opener. Through 16 games, he had started twice and made six plate appearances. “Sometimes I feel like I don’t belong here,” said Smith that April. “I almost feel like I want to go back [to Oklahoma City].” He got his wish on April 26 and spent the rest of the summer in the Sooner State, where he slashed .330/.408/.475. Smith clearly had nothing left to prove in the minors.

Smith finally stuck in the majors in ’80 and ’81 as a reserve. In those two seasons, he produced OPS+ numbers of 130 and 143. Perhaps undervalued or viewed as a defensive liability, the Phillies deemed him expendable.

Three-team deal sent Smith to the Cards

As Herzog looked to add speed to his roster before the 1982 season, Smith made for a natural trade target. On November 21, 1981, the Cardinals, Phillies, and Indians executed a three-team swap. In exchange for Smith, the Cards sent pitchers Lary Sorenson and Silvio Martínez to Cleveland; the Indians sent catcher Bo Díaz and a player to be named later (pitcher Scott Munninghoff) to Philadelphia.

Smith slotted in atop Herzog’s lineup and was the Cards’ primary left fielder in 1982. Nicknamed “Skates” for his habit of losing his footing, Lonnie proceeded to slash .307/.381/.434 while leading the league with 120 runs scored. His 68 stolen bases were the third most in baseball, trailing only Rickey Henderson and Tim Raines. Smith’s all-around performance resulted in a team-high 6.2 WAR (according to Baseball Reference) and his only career All-Star nod. In the World Series, he hit .321 with five extra base hits and six runs scored for the champs.

Whitey Wins Another Trade

In Smith’s three-plus seasons as a Cardinal, he compiled a 12.7 WAR while contributing a toughness and an aggressive style to the team. He was traded to Kansas City in 1985 after being supplanted by Vince Coleman.

Martínez never pitched for Cleveland. He required rotator cuff surgery during the 1982 season and failed in his comeback attempt. Sorenson, originally obtained by St. Louis from Milwaukee as part of the aforementioned mega-trade, went on to post a 22-26 record and 4.87 ERA in his two seasons with Cleveland. He turned into a journeyman pitcher late in his career and compiled a total WAR of 0.4 after Herzog dealt him away. From the Phillies’ perspective, Díaz was a serviceable backstop. He produced a 10.8 WAR through the remainder of his career with the Phillies and Reds.

Chalk up another win for the White Rat.