The Elizabethton Twins fell behind in this opening game of the 1987 season, but they came back to take the win, The Johnson City Press wrote.
The win marked the first of new manager Ray Smith's coaching career, The Press noted.
"The game is nine innings and you've got to play the whole nine innings," Smith told The Press after his inaugural managerial victory. "Our team showed a lot of character for a young team. They never gave up."
Smith got to see a few Elizabethton teams over the ensuing years, he also got to see his share of wins. By the time his stretch in Elizabethton was done, he'd either helmed or coached Elizabethton over 33 years, a third of a century, with 1,048 total victories.
Smith's long career in baseball, and at Elizabethton, started in 1977, as a player, signed by the Twins out of the University of Oregon.
Smith played his first season between single-A Visalia - and rookie Elizabethton. He saw 63 games at Elizabethton and hit .303. Smith made AA Orlando for 1978, then AAA Toledo in 1979. In April 1981, he made Minnesota.
Smith saw 15 games for the Twins that first year. He then returned for nine in 1982 and 59 in 1983. He hit .224 that year in 1983.
He played 1984 back ta Toledo, then 1985 with the Padres at AAA Las Vegas. He last played in 1986 with the Athletics at AAA Tacoma.
He then returned to the Twins and Elizabethton for 1987. He managed that year and continued managing Elizabethton through 1994. He then spent several years as a coach, before returning to the manager's office.
In June 2016, Smith started another campaign for Elizabethton and he spoke The Press about the players he sees ahead of time on paper and those he sees in person.
“Sometimes it's not exactly right when we see the players on the field compared to how they've been written up in the scouting report," Smith told The Press, "but I do know the scouts have had a tradition of getting quality players for us, and I don’t see why there’s going to be a difference this year."
Smith stayed on as manager through the end of the franchise in 2020, with the minor league realignment. The Minneapolis Star Tribune noted then noted Smith's impact as the Twins' major league roster then had six of the nine regulars in the batting order and six members of the pitching staff had all played for Smith.
"It's very rewarding to see that. I always tried to have a positive attitude because guys are young and trying to figure things out," Smith told The Star Tribune. "Whatever skills they were blessed with, I tried to teach them how to keep improving, offensively, defensively, running the bases. And being good men in the community, because there's more to it than baseball.
- Johnson City Press, June 21, 1987: Twins clip Cards in season opener
- Johnson City Press, June 21, 2016: Smith, E-Twins hope to hit the ground running
- Minneapolis Star Tribune, Nov. 15, 2020: Twins' rookie league team folds, ending Ray Smith's 33-year stint
Made the Majors:1,416-32.2
Never Made Majors:2,981-67.8%-X
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