Ozzie Smith On Why Opening Day Should Be A National Holiday, Hall Of Fame, PED [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Ozzie Smith, the former shortstop for the St. Louis Cardinals who was recently inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame, is speaking out about teaming up with Budweiser to make Major League Baseball’s Opening Day a national holiday by submitting a petition to the White House. “There was a survey done recently said that 22 million people have played hookie at some point in time on Opening Day,” Smith told Uinterview exclusively. “We’re trying to get 100 thousand signatures to make it an official holiday.”

Smith is highly regarded as one of baseball’s greatest defenders, having been inducted into Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2002. During the span of his career (1978-1996), Smith, known by many as “The Wizard,” for his skills in the infield, set the MLB record for career assists for a shortstop with 8,375. He is also second all-time in career double plays executed (1,590) and claimed 13 Gold Gloves for being the best shortstop in the National League.

Smith has remained an active voice in the world of Major League Baseball, speaking out against the rampant use of performance enhancing drugs in the game. “I think Major League Baseball and the Commissioner’s office has done a great job at putting in a deterrent,” Smith told Uinterview. “I think we have something in place now, and we’re hopefully getting to that point where the focus is more on the field than it is off the field.”