Smith Enjoys the Taste of Victory With Orioles

Less than three months ago, Dwight Smith celebrated his first home run in an Angel uniform with a bottle of expensive champagne compliments of teammate Bo Jackson.

So how did Smith celebrate his two-run homer in the third inning that helped the Baltimore Orioles beat his former Angel teammates Sunday?

The working man’s ale--Bud Light.

And he thought the brew tasted just as sweet as the expensive stuff.

After being traded to the Orioles June 14 for minor leaguer Bo Ortiz, Smith came back to haunt the Angel pitching staff Sunday by going three for five with three runs batted in and two runs scored in a 10-5 Oriole victory.

“It felt good,” Smith said of beating his old teammates. “I was telling some of my (Baltimore) teammates that it was hard to get a killer instinct against the Angels because I know the guys. Today, I tried to get a little serious, not talk as much and focus on the game.

“But it was still hard to go out and play against these guys.”

Smith left an Angel team that has been sinking in the AL West standings, and he’s now in the thick of the AL East race with the Orioles. Besides that, winning three of four games against his former team was, well, let Smith explain it.

“It was especially satisfying after I broke all my bats in the first three games of the series,” he said. “All of my bats were in the damn stands, and when we went out at night after the game, we all have a laugh about it. I had to get one laugh out of a game.”

A platoon player with the Angels, Smith became expendable when new manager Marcel Lachemann made Jim Edmonds the everyday left fielder. Baltimore Manager Johnny Oates has given Smith a little more playing time, and he has increased his batting average to .275.

“Dwight has played really well for us,” Oates said. “He has been hitting over .300 against right-handed pitching since we got him.”

Smith has fit in nicely in the sixth spot in Baltimore’s batting order, behind Brady Anderson, Chris Sabo, Rafael Palmeiro, Cal Ripken Jr. and Harold Baines. The veteran lineup, Smith said, was a far cry from the Angels’ youth movement.

“They (Angels) are rebuilding over there and they have to live and die with a lot of young (players’) mistakes,” he said. “Over here, it’s all veterans. We win and it’s out the door. It ain’t no: “We’ll get them tomorrow.’ ” Ripken, who’s chasing Lou Gehrig’s major league record of 2,130 consecutive games played, has been particularly influential on Smith.

“Cal’s like a big kid,” Smith said. “I can’t say enough about him. I’ve learned from him that everyday ball players have good attitudes. I came in here and saw how loosey-goosey he is and I thought, ‘No wonder he hasn’t got hurt all this time.’

“And usually you find that a lot of great players are stuck up, you know, like a pretty girl. But Cal’s not that way at all.”

Although his uniform has changed and so has his team’s fortunes, one thing about Smith has stayed the same with the Orioles. His teammates still like to rip on him.

As reporters crowded around Smith’s locker, Oriole pitcher Mark Williamson shouted to anyone within earshot: “What do you want talk to him for? What did he do today? What, is he the Pizza Hut player of the game or something?”

Smith just took a sip from his beer and smiled.