Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith was not the leading man in the 2024 World Series, but he was the most familiar name among baseball’s champions.
That’s because for five straight years, a player named Will Smith has won a championship.
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The unusual streak started in 2020 when the Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays to claim a title at the end of the COVID-shortened season. Smith was in his second year as the Dodgers’ starting catcher that year.
Los Angeles did not reach the World Series the following year, but the Atlanta Braves did. Their bullpen was anchored by a left-handed closer by the name of — you guessed it — Will Smith.
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Smith the pitcher is six years older than Smith the catcher, having debuted in 2012 with the Kansas City Royals. Although it wasn’t a save situation, Smith was on the mound when Yuli Gurriel grounded out to end the 2021 World Series — and the season. It was the first championship of his career.
Ironically, Smith would be traded to Houston midway through the 2022 season in a deadline deal for pitcher Jake Odorizzi. As fate would have it, the Astros went on to win the World Series that October.
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In March 2023, Smith signed a free agent contract with the Texas Rangers. He made 60 appearances in the regular season, and five more in the postseason, as Texas claimed its first championship in franchise history.
Smith signed with the Royals in Dec. 2023, raising hopes in Kansas City that Smith could extend his own streak of championship-winning seasons. Instead it was the other Will Smith left standing at the end of the 2024 season.
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Smith caught the final pitch from Walker Buehler in the Dodgers’ 7-6 win over the New York Yankees on Wednesday, capping Game 5 of the World Series with the second ring of his career.
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Although he went 0 for 4 in the game, Smith drew a walk and scored a run as the Dodgers rallied for five runs in the fifth inning to stun the Yankees, who were leading 5-0 at the time.
Smith went 8 for 56 (.143) with three home runs, eight RBIs, eight walks and nine strikeouts in 16 postseason games. He caught all but two innings during the Dodgers’ run in the month of October.
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