Indiana University Athletics
Hall of Fame Induction 2006 - Spotlight on Mike Smith
11/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Varsity Club
Nov. 8, 2006
With Indiana's Athletics Hall of Fame induction set for Friday, Nov. 10, IUHOOSIERS.com will highlight 2006 inductees Jon McGlocklin (basketball - 1963-65), Dave Power (tennis - 1964-66), Mike Smith (baseball - 1989-92) and Erika Wicoff (golf - 1992-96), as well as Indiana alumnus and legendary sportscaster Dick Enberg, in the week leading up to the induction. Alan Henderson (basketball - 1992-95) will be inducted when his schedule permits. The third feature in the week-long series will focus on Smith.
Indiana University will host its annual Athletics Hall of Fame ceremony Friday, Nov. 10, to honor the 2006 inductees. The inductees this year will include one of the premiere offensive players in the history of the Indiana baseball program, Mike Smith. Smith will join an elite group of former Indiana student-athletes and coaches that make up the IU Athletic Hall of Fame.
"This honor has always been in the back of my mind as something I would take pride in," Smith said. "When I received the letter, it knocked me back a second. It is very exciting to be inducted and it is a special moment. It means a lot to me and also to my family."
While playing at Indiana from 1989 to 1992, Smith had one of the most explosive careers in NCAA baseball history. In 1992, he became the only Division I player ever to win the Triple Crown. He batted .490 with 27 home runs and 95 RBI during his senior campaign to lead the nation in all three categories. Those numbers earned him first-team All-America honors, a first team All-Big Ten selection for the second season in a row (1991-92), and Big Ten Player of the Year honors. He was also named the Sporting News National Player of the Year and was a recipient of the R.E. "Bob" Smith Award, which is awarded by the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) to its College Baseball Player of the Year.
"My senior year was a special year for me," Smith said. "I had a good junior year and didn't get drafted. I used that as motivation to come back and play better my senior year. I worked hard and wanted to prove to people that I could play. I don't think about winning the Triple Crown much anymore, but it is an accomplishment no one can take away from me."
For his IU baseball career, Smith is the Hoosiers' career leader in home runs (47) and slugging percentage (1.490), third in hits (270), tied for fourth in runs (202), RBI (185) and triples (16). He is just one of seven Hoosiers to ever earn All-America honors.
Smith was drafted in 1992 in the fifth round by the Texas Rangers, and spent five years in the minors, with stops in Gastonia, N.C., Charlotte, N.C., High Desert, Calif., Tulsa, Okla., and Oklahoma City, Okla. Smith was a California League All-Star at second base for High Desert in 1994.
Smith is currently a director with the Cintas Corporation. He and his family reside in Dallas, Texas.
