Watching Lee Smith play, whenever he came into a game I never felt "this game is over". Many times Smith would screw around and let runs score (yet still get the save). My perception of Smith just isn't one of "dominance" like an Eckersley or even a Henke had. Perhaps the stats prove otherwise, I don't know. But at first glance I would vote against Smith for making Cooperstown.
The Lee Smith argument is interesting because saves meant dick up until 30 years ago. Relief pitchers were always asked to throw multiple innings and the idea of a "save" was comical to most baseball fans. He was certainly a very, very good pitcher, but when you really take a close look at this numbers, I don't think he's even in the discussion for one of the five best closers ever. And honestly, top 10 is probably a stretch, too. His save total is kind of like Biggio's hit total -- it's a jaw-dropping number when it stands alone, but when you get out the microscope and go from stat to stat, it's really underwhelming.
His ERA of 3.03 is bad for an elite closer -- Mariano Rivera (2.20), Billy Wagner (2.31), Trevor Hoffman (2.87), Dan Quisenberry (2.76), Bruce Sutter (2.83), Rollie Fingers (2.90), and Hoyt Wilhelm (2.52) all had lower ERAs. Heck, even Dennis Eckersley had a 3.50 career ERA and he spent his first dozen seasons as a starter. He didn't average a strikeout per inning, which is generally a staple of a hammer closer. His career WHIP was 1.25, which is fine for a starter...but he's a closer. He trails the likes of Rivera, Sutter, John Franco, and Wilhelm in adjusted ERA and the two times he was in the postseason, he was dreadful.
His numbers just don't bowl you over. And when you look at the voting history, he's essentially plateaued between 40 and 50% -- I just don't think the case is strong enough to warrant him being in.
