Justin Kyle Smoak (born December 5, 1986) is an American former professional baseball first baseman.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, Milwaukee Brewers, and San Francisco Giants and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yomiuri Giants.

Smoak played baseball for Stratford High School and the University of South Carolina.

[1] He was initially drafted by the Oakland Athletics as a 16th-round pick in 2005 upon graduation,[3] but instead attended the University of South Carolina.

[4] He followed up with a .315 batting average, 22 home runs, and 72 RBIs in his sophomore year, good enough to be tabbed as a third-team All-American.

[5] Smoak is South Carolina's all-time home run king with 62, having broken Hank Small's record of 48, which stood for over 30 years.

In the summer of 2006, Smoak played for the Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL).

[6] He led all hitters with 11 home runs, a .565 slugging percentage, and 21 extra-base hits,[7] en route to the MVP award.

"[15] Several scouting reports wrote that Smoak's biggest strength was his ability to hit for both power and average on both sides of the plate.

[4][16] Some scouts compared Smoak to fellow switch hitters Mark Teixeira and Chipper Jones.

"[20] The Rangers gave Smoak a $3.5 million signing bonus and assigned him to one of their Single-A affiliates, the Clinton LumberKings.

[23] Smoak was called up by the Rangers on April 22, 2010, and made his MLB debut the following evening in a game against the Detroit Tigers.

On June 13, playing in Milwaukee, Smoak became the first player in Rangers history to strike out five times in a nine-inning game.

On July 9, 2010, Smoak was traded to the Seattle Mariners with prospects Blake Beavan, Josh Lueke, and Matt Lawson, for Cliff Lee and Mark Lowe.

He returned to the Mariners on September 18 and batted .340 with three home runs in the final 14 games of his rookie season.

Former Seattle SuperSonics announcer Kevin Calabro gave him the nickname "The Freak From Goose Creek".

[26] On July 23, 2012, Smoak was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma, after his batting average dropped down to .189 in the middle of a 1-for-25 slump.

On April 22, 2015, Smoak set the all-time record for most plate appearances without hitting a triple to open a career.

[30] He extended the record to 2,317 plate appearances, before hitting his first career triple on June 12, against the Boston Red Sox.

[41] On October 15, Smoak was added to Toronto's ALCS roster after Devon Travis was removed due to injury.

[54] On June 18, Smoak decided to leave the Giants and Japan in order to return to the United States to be with his family.