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Feb. 13, 2006 Joliet, Ill. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) Hall of Fame member Ira "Dude" Smith who was inducted into the Eastern Shore Baseball Hall of Fame last November now has something else to add to his extensive resume. The Joliet Jackhammers have hired Smith as the team's hitting coach. "The Jackhammers ownership and management run a first-class operation, and I am very excited about being a member of this organization," said Smith. Smith who is from Chestertown, Md. was a two-time NCAA batting champion. He had a career batting average of .330, and was selected to the All-MEAC baseball team twice during his career. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991 and played professionally up until 1999. He was considered the most consistent hitter ever to wear a Hawk uniform, once collecting 10 straight hits over a three game span and three home runs in four games. In 1993 Smith played for the Class A Rancho Cucamonga's where he batted .346 with 32 steals. A year later he was batting .321 at Double-A Wichita. After playing in spring games for the San Diego Padres and batting an impressive .385, Smith went to Double-A Memphis and was then promoted to Triple-A Las Vegas. In 1997, Padres ex-GM Randy Smith signed Ira to a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers. Smith spent two seasons with the Lincoln Saltdogs (American Association of Independent Baseball) where he was a bench coach in 2004 and later their hitting coach in 2005. The Saltdogs had an impressive offensive showing under Smith, recording 1,043 hits in a season, 220 doubles, 1,612 total bases and tallying three Northern League records.
View the official Joliet Jackhammers release here.
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