 Lee Smith was born in Jamestown , Louisiana , and raised in the small town of Castor in Bienville Parish . Buck O 'Neil claimed credit for having scouted him . At age 17 , partly on O 'Neil 's recommendation , Smith was drafted in the second round as the 28th overall pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 1975 draft . Smith began his professional career as a starting pitcher . In 1978 with the Class AA minor league Midland Cubs , Smith struggled as a starter with an ERA near 6 @.@ 00 , prompting manager Randy Hundley to move him to the bullpen . Smith resisted the move and briefly tried college basketball at Northwestern State University . At the behest of former Cubs outfielder Billy Williams , Smith returned to Midland as a reliever for the 1979 season and pitched well enough to earn a promotion to Class AAA baseball for 1980 . With the major league Chicago Cubs struggling to a last @-@ place finish , Smith came into the big leagues as a September call @-@ up that season . 
