smith grew up in the browns mills section of pemberton township, new jersey and played football and baseball at pemberton township high school before being drafted by the white sox in the 7th round of the 1987 mlb draft. he declined football scholarships to penn state and florida to begin his professional baseball career out of high school, and played in the white sox minor league system from 1987–1991. he then played for the brewers system from 1991–1993, the cubs system in 1994, and the indians system in 1995. his baseball career peaked at the triple-a level in 1995 and ended following that season at age 26. primarily a third baseman, smith also played at first base and in the outfield later in his career.