Big Lee Smith wears “neutral” colors in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS – Lee Smith didn't offend anyone Thursday night. Or maybe he offended everyone.

The former longtime major league relief pitcher chose to wear a San Francisco Giants hat during his appearance and autograph-signing sessions at Veterans Memorial Stadium. It made sense because big Lee is a roving minor-league instructor in the Giants organization.

It just looked kind of weird from a guy who played for so many seasons with the Chicago Cubs and also spent time with the St. Louis Cardinals. They have large fan bases around these parts.

'Everybody says I look good in a Cub hat. ‘Why weren't you wearing a Cub hat?'” the gregarious Smith said, during the Cedar Rapids Kernels' 6-0 loss to Wisconsin. 'Well, I didn't have one. ‘OK, why aren't you wearing a Cardinals hat?' I wear this one, so I can't get into trouble.”

Smith, 57, spent 18 seasons in the big leagues and recorded 478 saves. He has been on the Hall of Fame ballot for 13 years but has never quite gotten over the hump.

In fact, his vote totals continue to go down. He has two years remaining on the ballot.

'Oh, God. I hope so,” Smith said, when asked if he eventually will be elected. 'I don't understand the era thing, situations like that. I don't know how to get the guys to vote for whoever. It's tough enough to figure out who should go in, who's going to go in, who's voting for who, who's your favorite player, cities and things like that.

'But I think it's going to happen. I do think it's going to happen. Because you look at the fact that I don't think closers are going to have the longevity that they used to. Jonathan Papelbon is probably the only guy I see who has been doing it for the last 10 years with consistency since Trevor (Hoffman) and Mariano (Rivera) retired.”

Smith has been to the offseason Cubs Convention for 'the last 12 to 15 years,” and can sense the excitement Chicago fans have with their young and talented 2015 team. He's got three World Series rings of his own as an employee of the Giants.

'You know what, the Cubs couldn't have picked a better manager than Joe Maddon,” he said. 'Joe is awesome. He was the bench coach when I was with the Angels in 1995-96, so I have a little history with him. If anybody can get the best out of that talent, it's him. At the same time, I feel sorry for Rick Renteria, the manager before him, because I thought he did a damn good job.”

Smith's appearance was the highlight of a night that saw the Kernels (30-18) limited to four hits. Wisconsin starter Kodi Medeiros went the first seven innings, giving up just a pair of meaningless singles.

Starter Jared Wilson (4-1) suffered his first loss of the season for Cedar Rapids, giving up five runs (four earned) in five innings.

The Kernels made a pair of roster moves before the game, placing pitcher John Curtiss (forearm) and infielder-outfielder Trey Vavra (ankle) on the seven-day disabled list. Vavra leads the team in hitting with a .346 batting average.

Right-handed pitcher Sam Gibbons, a 21-year-old Australian, joined the team from parent Minnesota Twins extended spring training. The Kernels roster is at 24 active players, one shy of maximum.

Farm director Brad Steil, in town to observe the club, said he did not know, yet, if another player would be brought in to replace Vavra.

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