Belief carried Smith through
Columbia High grad 1-for-10 in three games since call-up to Jays
Columbia High graduate Kevin Smith, who batted just .209 in Double-a two years ago, has made it to the big leagues with the Toronto Blue Jays.
It’s the culmination of a journey Smith said was filled with doubters who said he wasn’t good enough to play for the South Troy Dodgers or at the University of Maryland, where he became a fourth-round draft pick.
Smith, a 25-year-old infielder, said he stuck to the adage that’s pinned to the top of his Twitter account: “Believe in Yourself.”
“I think it’s everything, man,” Smith said in a phone interview from Toronto on Monday. “You see people in every walk of life, and they have more talent than you or get better breaks than you. I think what really depends on if you make it or not is if you believe in yourself and you prepare the right way and give yourself that confidence going into the game to compete every day.”
He got called up from Triple-a Buffalo last Tuesday. He was in a hotel room in Syracuse brushing his teeth when he came back to a missed call from Buffalo manager Casey Candaele, who told him, “Well, stop brushing your teeth. You’re going to the big leagues.”
Smith immediately called his parents, Dan and Lisa, and his girlfriend, Taylor Steen, so they could join him in Washington, D.C., last Wednesday for his debut against the Nationals. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in his first at-bat.
But Smith delivered his first big-league hit last Friday against the Tigers in Toronto. He grounded a single to right off Detroit starter Tyler Alexander. The home crowd gave him a standing ovation, including his parents, and two of his East Greenbush Little League coaches, Tom Hall and Tom Hickey.
His girlfriend had since flown to Arizona for a family graduation.
“I just remember telling her to keep the phone on and that I was going to swing first pitch if I got a
good one, so to be ready,” Smith said. “Little did I know, it actually happened. I just remember seeing it go past the first baseman and then I kind of went into shock and looked up at my family and they were going crazy and it was just a cool moment, man.”
His father made the television highlights with his emotional reaction.
“Like a fool, jumping up and down,” Dan Smith said with a laugh. “It was surreal for sure. The thing you don’t realize is the sacrifices that players make to get to that level. That’s what makes it all worthwhile when you see him out there.”
Dan Smith said since his callup, Kevin has gone out of his way to reach out to the people who have helped him along the way. Among others, Kevin credited South Troy Dodgers coaches George and Kevin Rogers.
Smith’s career seemed stalled when he struggled in Double-a New Hampshire in 2019. He said he tried to “tweak a few things” without success early in the season.
“I went back to what I did well, hitting the ball down in the zone and getting good pitches to
hit, not worrying about my swing and finished 2019 out right,” Smith said.
When the pandemic canceled last season, Smith went down to the Nashville, Tenn., training facility run by the Bledsoe Agency, which represents him.
“Just finding some consistency with my timing and posture, sticking to it and keeping it simple for me,” he said.
He hit 19 homers with 63 RBIS and a .286 average for Buffalo this season before getting the call from Toronto. He’s 1-for-10 in his
first three MLB games.
“Yeah, man, it’s been crazy but it’s been fun at the same time,” Smith said. “I mean, there’s a lot going on, a lot of stuff to get used to and kind of get back to playing baseball. I talked to a lot of my buddies who made their debuts and every one of them wishes they would have soaked it in and appreciated it more and taken time to enjoy it. So that’s what I’m trying to do.”