The following article is part of my ongoing look at the candidates on the BBWAA 2017 Hall of Fame ballot. Originally written for the 2013 election, it has been updated to reflect recent voting results as well as additional research. For a detailed introduction to this year's ballot, please see here. For an introduction to JAWS, see here.
Over the course of his 18-year career, Lee Arthur Smith was one of the game’s top closers. The physically intimidating (officially listed at 6'5", 220 pounds but reported as big as 6'6", 269 pounds) and mellifluously middle-named righty pitched for eight teams, earned All-Star honors seven times, led his league in saves four times (and finished as runner-up in four other seasons) and finished as high as second in the Cy Young voting.