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A weak hitter early in his career, Smith improved at the plate through the years. He never had much power; however, because of his speed and somewhat average hitting skills he developed over the years, he was able to serve as a competent leadoff hitter. His real asset was his glove, with which he often won more ballgames than the hitters on his team did. Smith also had some speed, and had 580 steals in his total career, good for 20th on the all time list.
Ozzie's greatest season came in 1987, when he had a .303 [[batting average]], 43 stolen bases, 75 [[RBI]]s, 104 [[run]]s scored, and 40 doubles en route to helping the Cardinals get into the playoffs. It was one of the best seasons ever recorded by a weak power leadoff hitter like Smith (who had no [[home run]]s that season). He ended up second in the [[MLB Most Valuable Player Award|MVP]] balloting to [[Andre Dawson]], who had played on the last-placed [[Chicago Cubs]].
Following the 1987 season, Ozzie was awarded the highest contract in the [[National League]] at $2,340,000. He continued to be a good leadoff hitter with saavy baserunning skills and excellent fielding for the rest of his career.
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