WILL SMITH NEWS

World Series News: Dodgers' Will Smith Makes History With Help From Royal Namesake The World Series has been won by a player named Will Smith for the last five years after the Dodgers’ catcher claimed his second career trop...

OCTOBER 31 • NEWSOBSERVER.COM

Where there's a Will (Smith), there's a way: 5 straight years with a title There are some wild stats in baseball history. Stan Musial had 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 hits on the road during his Hall of Fame career....

OCTOBER 31 • MLB.COM

Hits first World Series home run Smith hit his first homer of this World Series in Tuesday's Game 4 loss. He's had just two hits in 14 at-bats in the series against the Yankees.

Impact The playoffs and especially the World Series tend to magnify what would be the normal ebbs and flows of the regular season. Smith is playing through a sore hand after taking a foul ball of his left hand in the NLCS. He had a slightly disappointing regular season, hitting .248/.327/.433 with 20 homers, trading some on-base and batting average for a little more power.

OCTOBER 30 • ROTOWIRE

Will Yankees-Dodgers break record for most Hall of Famers in a World Series?

Stars will be all over the diamond when the Yankees and Dodgers meet in the World Series. Will it break the record for the most Hall of Fame...

OCTOBER 24

Dodgers' 5 biggest X-factors vs. Yankees in 2024 World Series

The 2024 World Series is a heavyweight matchup that's sure to test the depth of both rosters. Here are five players who could swing the seri...

OCTOBER 24

Will start in Game 6 Smith (hand) will start behind home plate and bat eighth for Game 6 of the NLCS against the Mets on Sunday, Noah Camras of DodgersNation.com reports.

Impact Smith received X-rays on his left hand after taking a foul ball off his glove in the seventh inning of Game 5. The results came back negative, and Smith will serve behind home plate as the Dodgers turn to Michael Kopech and the rest of the bullpen. Smith has gone 3-for-19 with two walks and two RBI during the NLCS.

OCTOBER 20 • ROTOWIRE

X-rays negative on left hand Manager Dave Roberts said Saturday that Smith received X-rays on his left hand after he took a foul ball of his catching hand in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Mets, Mike DiGiovann...

Impact Roberts relayed that the foul ball hitting Smith's left hand led to him being pinch-hit for in the seventh inning of Friday's game. The X-rays on Smith's hand came back negative, and the 29-year-old catcher is expected to be in the lineup for Game 6 on Sunday. Smith has gone 5-for-35 with six walks, one home run and four RBI during the postseason.

OCTOBER 19 • ROTOWIRE

The moments that helped ignite the Padres-Dodgers rivalry ahead of NLDS Game 5

The Padres and Dodgers have already provided several memorable moments in their latest NLDS matchup. Here are the moments that helped spark...

OCTOBER 10

Resting in finale Smith is not in Sunday's lineup against the Rockies.

Impact Smith only got one start in the weekend series in Coors Field as the Dodgers look to keep him fresh for the postseason. Austin Barnes is starting behind the dish, batting ninth.

SEPTEMBER 29 • ROTOWIRE

Gets breather Friday Smith is not in the starting lineup for Friday's game against the Rockies, David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports reports.

Impact Smith has gone 3-for-13 with one home run and two RBI over his last four games. He'll get some rest Friday, with Austin Barnes serving behind home plate and batting ninth.

SEPTEMBER 27 • ROTOWIRE

On base three times Smith went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored in Tuesday's loss to the Padres.

Impact Smith notched his fourth multi-hit effort over his last 10 games, a span during which he's hitting .303 with just a 3:4 BB:K. Smith has just five extra-base hits this month and needs one more home run to reach 20 for the third time in his career. For the season, he's slashing .248/.326/.431 with 72 RBI, 73 runs and a 49:104 BB:K in 530 plate appearances.

SEPTEMBER 25 • ROTOWIRE

Taking Saturday off Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Saturday's game against Colorado.

Impact Smith has gone 3-for-10 with a homer, two RBI and four runs scored over his last three games. He'll get a breather Saturday, allowing Hunter Feduccia to catch for Walker Buehler while batting ninth.

SEPTEMBER 21 • ROTOWIRE

Goes deep in win Smith went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and three total runs scored in Wednesday's 8-4 victory versus the Marlins.

Impact Smith put the Dodgers on the board in the second inning with a solo shot to left field. The long ball was his 19th of the campaign, tying his total from last season. The All-Star catcher's .246 batting average on the campaign is well below his career norm, but he's shown signs of coming to life at the plate of late, batting .333 (7-for-21) with two homers, two RBI and seven runs over his past six games.

SEPTEMBER 19 • ROTOWIRE

Getting breather Tuesday Smith is not in the lineup for Tuesday's contest in Miami.

Impact It's a routine day off for Smith, who had started four of the last five contests behind the plate. Hunter Feduccia is doing the catching in what will be his second career start.

SEPTEMBER 17 • ROTOWIRE

Getting rest Sunday Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against Atlanta.

Impact Smith will receive some routine maintenance after he had started behind the plate in each of the Dodgers' last three games. Austin Barnes will handle catching duties for the Dodgers in the series finale in Atlanta.

SEPTEMBER 15 • ROTOWIRE

Continues to claw out of slump Smith went 2-for-5 with a solo home run, an additional run and a double in Wednesday's 10-8 win over the Cubs.

Impact Smith hit the middle of back-to-back-to-back homers for the Dodgers in the first inning and added a double in the seventh, subsequently scoring the go-ahead run. The All-Star catcher went through a prolonged rough stretch at the plate following the break, beginning the second half of the season by batting .165 with a 24.4 percent strikeout rate over his first 28 games. Smith has shown signs of bouncing back since then, however, slashing .278/.316/.500 with two home runs, two doubles, four runs and seven RBI across his past nine contests.

SEPTEMBER 12 • ROTOWIRE

Taking seat Tuesday Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cubs, Kirsten Watson of Spectrum SportsNet LA reports.

Impact Smith will get a chance to regroup Tuesday after going 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in Monday's series opener. Austin Barnes will replace him behind the plate and bat ninth.

SEPTEMBER 10 • ROTOWIRE

Three hits Sunday Smith went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in Sunday's 4-0 win over the Guardians.

Impact Smith posted his second three-hit effort since the All-Star break. His double Sunday was just his second extra-base hit since Aug. 21. He does have three multi-hit games over his last five starts but is slashing just .185/.282/.266 with two homers, 14 RBI, 16 runs and a 13:35 BB:K in 142 plate appearances since the All-Star break.

SEPTEMBER 9 • ROTOWIRE

Not starting Saturday Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Saturday's game against the Guardians.

Impact After going 0-for-8 with four strikeouts across his last two games, Smith will get a breather Saturday against Gavin Williams and the Guardians. Austin Barnes will start behind the plate instead and bat ninth.

SEPTEMBER 7 • ROTOWIRE

Getting Wednesday off Smith isn't in the Dodgers' lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels.

Impact The Dodgers will give Smith a chance to rest Wednesday after he went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts during Tuesday's series opener. Austin Barnes will catch instead for Bobby Miller and bat ninth.

SEPTEMBER 4 • ROTOWIRE

Receiving rest Sunday Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Diamondbacks.

Impact Austin Barnes will spell Smith behind the dish after the latter catcher started both of the first two games of the series. Despite banging out two hits in Saturday's 8-6 win, Smith still endured a tough August, slashing just .194/.298/.319 with two home runs, 10 RBI and 12 runs on the month.

SEPTEMBER 1 • ROTOWIRE