David Stanley Smith (January 21, 1955 – December 17, 2008) was a Major League Baseball relief pitcher, primarily for the Houston Astros, for whom he pitched from to . He also pitched for the Chicago Cubs. Early life Smith was born in Richmond, California, and attended San Diego State University. He was drafted in the eighth round (169th overall) of the 1976 Major League Baseball Draft. He was signed by scout Bob Cluck. Baseball career Smith made his Major League debut on April 11, 1980, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sent in for the top of the eighth inning, Smith allowed two walks and a hit but did not allow a run. The Astros rallied in the bottom of the inning for five runs to victory, as Smith earned his first win. Smith appeared in 57 games that year while pitching 102.2 innings (a career high), collecting ten saves while having a 7-5 record with a 1.93 ERA. He struck out 85 batters while walking 32 of them, and he received votes in the Rookie of the Year balloting, finishing fifth. That year, the Astros reached the postseason for the first time in franchise history. Smith appeared in three games of the 1980 National League Championship Series. In Game 2, he pitched to seven batters in the seventh and eighth innings, allowing one run to score while the Astros won 7-4. In Game 3, he was tasked to pitch the eleventh inning of a scoreless tie. He allowed one hit and a walk before the Astros rallied in the bottom of the inning for a walk-off victory. This set the stage for a pivotal Game 4, in which an Astros win would have advanced them to the World Series. In the top of the eighth inning, he was sent to replace Vern Ruhle, who had seen his shutout end on a Pete Rose single. Facing Mike Schmidt on a full count, Smith allowed a single that scored Lonnie Smith to tie the game. Smith was taken out of Joe Sambito, but the Phillies tacked on another run to take the lead. While the Astros rallied to force it into extra innings, the Phillies won the game in the tenth inning (with three hits off Sambito) and won the series the next day. The following year, Smith pitched in 42 games with 75 innings pitched while collecting eight saves with 52