Has Ozzie Smith Played His Last Card?

Ozzie Smith is accustomed to hearing oohs and ahhs, not boos.

But in this summer of discontent for the St. Louis Cardinals, that is what it has come down to. Suddenly, at 35, he’s been perceived in some circles as washed-up, an insidious clubhouse presence, a ringleader in doubleknits who helped greased the skids for Manager Whitey Herzog’s resignation earlier this month.

Smith, a true original, became a $2-million shortstop strictly because of his glove as his clean sweep of Gold Gloves in the 1980s attests. But he also learned to hit and he’s always been able to wow the crowds with backflips and pirouettes.

Now his critics are saying it would be best for the last-place team if he were to move on. “Ozzie Must Go For Cards’ Sake,” read one headline a few days after Herzog quit July 6. An anonymous player was quoted as saying that Smith was practically triumphant the day Herzog quit.

Smith has one year remaining on a two-year contract that pays him close to $4 million with an option for another year. The talk stings, but he figures he’ll weather the storm.

“They can write anything and say anything they want,” Smith says with a wan smile. “My reputation speaks for itself. I don’t have to defend myself against anything. I still do what I do as good as anybody does it.”

Criticism aside, Smith is St. Louis’ second most loved sports personality, after the departed Herzog, and his popularity hasn’t exactly plummeted. Fan voting got him his eighth straight All-Star start even though he hit in the .230s most of the first half of the season with limited range afield due to nagging injuries.

Since the break, Smith’s hitting has improved, nudging his average to near .250.

He’s a successful restaurateur, he has his own TV show, an option to buy a lucrative Anheuser-Busch Inc. distributorship, and so many other outside interests that baseball sometimes gets crowded out. So when Smith hears the boos, he considers the source.

“To me, those are people who are easily influenced,” he says. “These are not people who know me. People who know me, I don’t have to worry about.

“Anyway, I’ve been booed a lot worse in San Francisco.”

Indeed, the spotless image Smith carefully cultivated as a TV nice guy personna has taken a bit of a beating in recent years. Giants’ fans haven’t forgotten that he sucker-punched Will Clark during an altercation a few years ago at Busch Stadium, and the 5-foot-10 shortstop has made a few enemies in the locker room, both players and media, with his larger-than-life ego.

Yet it’s hard to argue with his results.

Cardinals fans, among the most loyal in the game, haven’t forgotten his immense contributions to the team’s success in the 1980s, both as a player and drawing card.

Smith is a huge celebrity at Ozzie’s sports barrestaurant in St. Louis County, about 20 miles away from the ballpark, where the clientele grabs the baseball bat door handles on the way in and can order such delicacies as grand slam ribs, knockout hamburgers and home run chili.

“They really pack it in when he tapes his TV show here,” said waitress Peggy Lieser. “Everybody loves him.”

Cardinals fan Harris Jackoway of St. Louis comes to Ozzie’s for the food, not to catch a glimpse of the little big man, but he agrees.

“He’s the best shortstop we’ve ever had, and I’ve been following the Cardinals since 1926,” Jackoway said. “He’s been a hell of a shortstop and he’s made a hell of a contribution to this city in many ways.”

Smith may be the third-best shortstop in the National League this season, behind Barry Larkin of the Reds and Shawon Dunston of the Cubs, but the way he sees it, he’s far from through.

“Shoot, everybody slows down,” Smith says. “But I can play till I’m 40 if I choose to.”

And having Smith around is OK with the younger players. Jay Bell of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for one, says he’s enjoyed getting the chance to talk strategy with Smith.

“He’s always been free with his advice,” Bell said. “As a young shortstop, I appreciate that.”

Larkin, the heir apparent, also defers to Smith.

“Until Ozzie is out of the game, he’s always going to be the man,” Larkin said. “He’s done a lot for the game and that nickname, ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ is something for people to hang on to.”

Or is it Wizard of Aahs? Time has diminished Smith’s skills and his arm is a slingshot compared to Dunston’s cannon, but he still has the best range in the National League and remains a master at stealing hits.

“I think people come to see me to do what I do out on the field and that’s play good baseball,” Smith says. “I’ve done that for a few years, I think, and I’ve made it entertaining, even in the years that we didn’t win.

“That’s why the attendance here is so high, the fans want to be entertained.”

Smith says his popularity was overlooked this year by critics of his All-Star selection. He suffered from statistical comparisons, but has always contended that the game shouldn’t be just a showcase for players having fast starts.

“Actually, it’s not even a good year that gets some players in, it’s a good first half,” Smith says. “Every year it’s the same thing and you get sick and tired of it.

“I had six or seven good years in a row and now because I’m having a down one they wanted to throw me out.”

Smith concedes that Larkin and Dunston are having better seasons but he’s not ready to step down as king of the hill.

“There’s so many good young shortstops,” Smith says. “But time is what determines greatness, not one year. You’ve got to do what you do over the long haul, and I have.”

And he hasn’t written off this season yet. It began poorly when he pulled a groin muscle in spring training, spending the first few weeks of the season on the disabled list. Then he injured his right knee, and still wears a brace.

“It was a double whammy,” Smith says. “As my knee’s getting a little better, I’m able to move a little better, and cover a little more ground.

“You watch. As I get better, everything will get better.”

Smith’s career skyrocketed after he came to the Cardinals in 1982 in a shortstop swap that sent Garry Templeton to the San Diego Padres. The Cardinals won the World Series his first year in town and won National League pennants in 1985 and 1987.

This year, the Cardinals could finish in last place for the first time since 1918. Whom to blame? Nobody, Smith says.

The nucleus of the Cardinals -- Smith, center fielder Willie McGee, third baseman Terry Pendleton and left fielder Vince Coleman -- has been in place for six seasons, and Smith says it’s simply time for an overhaul.

“All good things must come to an end,” he says. “We’ve been together a long time and we’ve had a lot of good years, but things just go stale.

“You become stagnated, no matter what you do.”

It was a golden era that likely lasted a season too long, he says. Free agency will take care of the problem this winter, when McGee, Pendleton and Coleman all could go elsewhere.

As for Smith, he won’t be pushed out of town. As a 10-year veteran with five years of service with one team, he can veto a trade.

“So, if I want to be here I probably will,” Smith says. “Well, yeah, I’d like to be here next year. I don’t plan on going anywhere, at least not at this point.”