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Greg Smith at Anaheim Stadium, p: Matthew Murray

Greg Smith Interview

Anaheim, CA - 5/2/08

Greg Smith, starting pitcher for the Oakland A’s has been an Oakley fan since he was a teenager growing up in Alexandria, Louisiana. Smith came up the baseball ranks by staying in his home state and playing for one of the most prestigious college baseball programs in the country, LSU. In Greg’s four years at LSU, the team made it to the College World Series twice and in his last season for the Tigers he went 10 and 3 with 82 strikeouts.

In the June draft of 2005 the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him in the sixth round. Last year was Greg’s breakthrough season in the Diamondbacks' Minor League farm system, where he pitched in AA and AAA. Smith’s stats were impressive with an ERA in the mid 3s, a 5 to 1 and 3 to 1 strikeouts to walks ratio, and most impressive – he could hit for a pitcher – batting .467 and .385.

After a few seasons in the minors with the Diamondbacks, Greg was traded to the Oakland Athletics with a few fellow D’Backs to the A’s for their top pitcher Dan Haren and Conner Robertson. Greg made his big league debut on April 9th of this year at Toronto, where he pitched six innings of two hit ball for a no decision. After that outing, the 24 year-old lefthander has been a staple in the A’s starting rotation for 2008 with a 2-1 record and 2.73 ERA.

Below is Oakley’s interview with Greg Smith before yesterday’s game against the Anaheim Angels.

Words & Photos: Matthew Murray
Oakley: Sports Marketing Media

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