He spent three years in the minors before joining the Senators in 1906. In three seasons for Washington, he posted ERAs of 2.91, 2.61 and 2.41, but finished with negative records of 9–16, 10–20 and 6–12. In 1909 he went 6–12 with a 3.27 ERA for Washington, before being traded to the Red Sox for Doc Gessler late in the season. In three starts for Boston he went 3–0 with a 2.16 ERA, and resurfaced in 1910 going 11–6 with a 2.30 ERA. While pitching for the Cubs, he led the National League with six relief wins in 1912.
In a 10-year career, Smith posted a 66–87 record with a 2.81 ERA in 212 appearances, including 148 starts, 87 complete games, 10 shutouts, three saves, and 1349+1⁄3 innings of work. A fine control pitcher,[citation needed] he collected a 1.62 strikeout-to-walk ratio (570-to-353).