Dodgers catcher Will Smith is overshadowed, perhaps perpetually so. He’s buried beneath much bigger names like Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts on the Dodgers. As a great hitting catcher, he’s stuck behind Cal Raleigh. He’s not even the most famous Will Smith in California.
Smith was overshadowed again in Game 2 of the World Series. Smith was integral to the Dodgers’ 5-1 victory, which pulled them even, 1-1, in the best-of-seven Fall Classic. His battery-mate, pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, just happened to be even more integral.
Yamamoto deserves all the praise he’s going to get. He’s now gone back-to-back complete games in the playoffs, a feat unheard of for decades (it hadn’t happened since 2001). He was masterful.
We can’t ignore Smith, though.
He came through with a two-out, RBI single to get the scoring started in the first inning. He broke a tie with a solo home run in the top of the seventh. He put the ball in play with the bases loaded in the eighth and ended up with an RBI fielder’s choice. That’s a 2 for 4 game with three RBI. Not too shabby.
Bear in mind Smith, as a catcher, is also involved in game-planning with the pitcher and working with him all night. Yamamoto gets the lion’s share of the praise for his outing, but Smith was helpful behind the plate, too, calling pitchers and working with his pitcher.
“I think the game calling, the relationship with the pitchers has continued to get better,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said after the game. “He’s always had the bat to ball, the ability to hit to all fields, the ability to hit verse left, verse right. He understands when to pick his spots. He does his homework. I think at the end of the day, he’s a guy that just doesn’t panic. He’s really got a flat-line heartbeat, and in the postseason, that’s what you need.”
Smith entered the postseason with a hand injury, to the point that it looked like he might not be able to play defense and would just be a pinch hitter. He’s back to being the full-time catcher, though, and he’s hit .314 with six RBI in 40 plate appearances.
In the regular season, Smith had his best year. He was limited to 110 games, but slashed .296/.404/.497, good for a 152 OPS+. The league only hit .245 with a .315 OBP this year and catchers were held to a .238/.306/.394 line, so Smith exceeded his fellow backstops by nearly 60 points of average and roughly 200 points of OPS. How many people really noticed what an offensive force he was this season? Dodgers fans. Fantasy baseball players. That might be about it. Why?
Because Smith was overshadowed. Raleigh hit 60 home runs and might win the American League MVP. He set a new record for catcher home runs. Smith had a much higher average and OBP.
Speaking of MVPs, Ohtani is likely to win the honor in the National League. It’ll be his second straight with the Dodgers in his first two seasons in Los Angeles. Freeman and Betts have also won MVPs and all three hit in front of Smith in the lineup, once again, you guessed it, overshadowing him.
Smith would be one of the biggest stars on a good number of MLB teams. On this Dodgers team, though, he’s easy to miss. Not that it seems to bother Smith. He signed a 10-year, $140 million extension that started before the 2024 season. Did you even remember that? Maybe. But maybe not. Why? You know the answer. The Dodgers have a boatload of much more eye-popping contracts.
Once again, he’s overshadowed.
Game 2 of the 2025 World Series made perfect sense. Smith was central to the Dodgers win and relegated to a mere footnote. He deserves more credit than that, however, as he’s one of the best catchers in baseball and just had an amazing performance to help his team win a World Series game.