Burch Smith (copy)

ARLINGTON — Burch Smith has heard it all over the years, especially how at 34, on his seventh different big-league team and as someone who’s also pitched in Japan and Korea that he’s a journeyman.

However, Smith, a Tyler Lee High School product now with the Baltimore Orioles, his second team this season after pitching for the Miami Marlins earlier in the year, can’t complain anytime he gets to don an MLB uniform.

“It’s definitely exciting. It’s always good to be on a really good team,” Smith said before the July 19 series opener with the Rangers in Arlington. “Every game means something. We’ve got postseason on our mind and that’s our goal. I’m just excited to be here and hopefully I can contribute as much as I can to this team and be a part of it.”

To date, he’s made three appearances for the O’s, the latest coming in a 3-2 loss at Globe Life Field on Sunday, July 21st, his fourth career appearance at the Rangers’ home ballpark, when he faced one batter in the eighth, needing just one pitch to induce the final out of the frame.

Three appearances is a rather small sample size for Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde to go off of, but the O’s skipper has already seen plenty to like about the new veteran arm in his bullpen.

“Did a really good job and came through,” Hyde said. “He’s kind of an adult in the bullpen where he’s in his mid-30s and has been around the big leagues for a while, couple different countries. I thought he had good stuff when he threw.”

Smith estimated he’d have between 12 and 20 people in the stands for each of the three games with the reigning World Series champion Rangers. Being back in Arlington also represents a return to his baseball roots as he and his family would attend five or six Ranger games each year at their former home across the street, now known as Choctaw Stadium.

“Grew up a big Rangers fan. I definitely got the baseball bug from coming to games here,” he said.

After a solid high school career at Lee, Smith’s baseball odyssey began. He first pitched at Howard College, helping lead the Hawks to the junior college national title in 2009 and being named Region V conference pitcher of the year in 2010. Smith then made his way to Norman to pitch at Oklahoma, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference consideration as a junior with the Sooners.

San Diego drafted him in the 11th round in 2011 and he debuted with the Padres in 2013. Since then, he pitched for Kansas City in 2018, for Milwaukee and San Francisco in 2019, with Oakland in 2020 and 2021, spent 2022 in Japan, landed in Korea for 2023, and toed the rubber for both Miami and Baltimore in 2024.

“I’m just along for the journey. I’ve enjoyed every single day,” Smith said. “Every single day that I can put on a jersey is a blessing and it’s something I don’t take for granted. Early in my career, I missed a lot of time consecutively, all of ’14, all of ’15, all of ’16, and half of ’17. That was right after jumping straight into the Major Leagues after I got drafted. I saw how good it can be and then how bad it can be. I learned from that how to keep your nose down, keep working, and trust in the process, and every day you get is special. I definitely enjoy every day I can.”

Along the way, he’s also been designated for assignment, where his team immediately removes him from its 40-man roster and then has seven days to either trade him or put him on unconditional release waivers, on five occasions. Smith realizes this can sometimes be part of being a big leaguer for some, as well as pitching overseas, additional experiences he wouldn’t trade for anything.

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be in Korea long. I got hurt on opening day and was only over there about six weeks, but I did enjoy my time there,” he said. “It was a really good group of guys, a great team and really fun. In Japan, that was unique as well. We were living in Tokyo and taking the train every day. It was a really good experience, a lot of great people there, lot of good baseball too, lot of good players. I was really impressed with the arms and good hitters. It was all around a great experience. Yeah, I’d love to play there again sometime too.”

Smith now calls Tampa, Florida home, which is where he spent the recent MLB All-Star break before he and the O’s resumed play on in Arlington. He’s one of six Texans currently on Baltimore’s roster, a list which includes fellow East Texas product Grayson Rodriguez, a starting pitcher who grew up in Nacogdoches and played for Central Heights High School.

And anytime he’s back in his home state, he’s reminded of how proud he is to be a native Texan and from Tyler specifically.

“It was a great place to grow up. My parents grew up there,” he said. “Fortunate to be able to call that home. It’s always fun to come here, play against the Rangers, and have a bunch of family come out.”

Of course, anytime he has friends and family in the stands, it’s special, especially since these are the same people who have been supporting his rather winding baseball journey from its earliest stages.

“Absolutely, the older we get, the more I do appreciate being able to share with family everything I’m doing. It is always really fun,” Smith said. “It reminds me of how far I’ve come. It’s really special to be able to share it with them.”

And as far as Baltimore being his seventh different big-league employer, he sees that journeyman status as a huge positive.

“It’s just another place I get to play. I’m always fortunate for every opportunity that I get,” Smith said. “Yeah, I see it as a positive. I have a huge network of people that I know. In every clubhouse I go in, I know five, six, seven people. I’ve played with a lot of the coaches. I’ve been really fortunate in my career and just trying to keep going as long as I can.”

Smith might not consider himself an inspiration to his fellow relievers, but that’s exactly what he is as a guy who has never lost hope and keeps getting big-league jobs.

“In the bullpen realm, it’s tough to stay in one spot all the time. But I think Burch is a really good dude,” said fellow O’s reliever Jacob Webb. “I’ve only known him for a short period of time but seems like a really kind-hearted dude who really knows what he’s doing. Comes prepared every day and I think that’s the tale of our bullpen anyways, is everyone comes ready to go. It’s nice to have a little bit more of a veteran presence down there too, someone that’s very engaged and on the same page as us, trying to win.”