Excerpt from the Dayton Daily News
By Tom Archdeacon
In the big leagues he’s known as a dependable reliever.
Once a star pitcher at Wright State and now a stalwart of the Houston Astros bullpen, Joe Smith is awaiting the start of his 14th Major League Baseball season.
He’s appeared in 782 games and is known for his unique delivery, a cross between sidearm and submarine style.
But it’s his pitch – off the mound even more so than on it – that’s especially impactful.
“We’re just trying to bring some good into the world,” he told me the other day when discussing one of his charitable involvements.
Smith and his wife Allie LaForce – the former Miss Teen USA, an Ohio University basketball player and journalism grad and now a TNT sideline reporter known for her coverage of the NBA and college basketball’ March Madness – are the highest profile sports couple in the Miami Valley.
They live in Bellbrook in the offseason, though their careers have them travelling around the country much of the year.
