Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith was known as the Wizard of Oz and his acrobatic fielding truly was wizardly, as he is arguably the best fielding shortstop of all time. Displayed is a 1989 Ozzie Smith St. Louis Cardinals' pregame worn, short-sleeved, knit jersey. Smith played in the Major Leagues for 19 seasons: San Diego Padres (1982-81), St. Louis Cardinals (1982-96). He batted .262 lifetime, with 2,460 runs and 580 stolen bases. He was a 15-time All-Star, a 13-time Gold Glove recipient (all consecutively), and a 1982 World Series winner. Born in Alabama in 1954, as a youth he moved with his family to the Watts section of Los Angeles. He spent hours bouncing a ball off steps and catching it as it rebounded, moving closer and closer to the steps as he sharpened his reflexes. As a youth, he also liked to do somersaults into piles of sawdust, and that oft-practiced skill helped his agility on batted balls and also helped him to perfect his trademark somersault and back-flip when he would run onto a Major League field. In 1989, when Smith wore the offered jersey during pregame practice, he batted .273, led the NL in defensive WAR, at 4.8, and also led the NL in assists by a shortstop, with 483. The Cardinals in that season had an 86-72 record, for 3rd place in the NL East. The offered jersey was worn by Smith during pregame warm-ups and batting practice. This is a nice pregame jersey because all lettering and numbering is sewn on, and it has his name O. SMITH on the back. The O. SMITH is in white lettering with navy blue trim sewn onto a red nameplate. The red mesh jersey has an interlocking STL sewn onto the left chest. On the back is a white sewn-on number 1 with navy blue trim. Smith has signed this number 1 and he has added an inscription that appears to be "02," with the first numeral being blurred. As such, the "02" most likely represents the 2002 year of Smith's induction to the Hall of Fame. There is a Rawlings size 40 tag on the front tail, along with a 1989 1 strip tag. The jersey shows fine use, with a few loose threads, and yet is in very nice condition.