Will Smith has been one of the best catchers in baseball throughout his career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Somehow, though, he also has quite the specialty that's almost hard to believe.
Smith is an expert at delivering pinch-hit, walk-off home runs. He just did it Wednesday night against the Padres.
The right-handed slugger now has three of them in his MLB career. That breaks a tie with Rick Monday for most in Dodgers history, according to MLB's Sarah Langs.
This was Will Smith’s 3rd career pinch-hit walk-off homer, breaking a tie with Rick Monday for most in Dodgers history https://t.co/3qtdqff1FD
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) June 19, 2025
MORE: You won't believe how far behind a batter this pitch went
There's all sorts of fascinating circumstance involved here.
For starters, Smith has to be on the bench the whole game until the end. That's probably more likely to happen for a catcher who gets the occasional day off, so that makes some sense.
Then you have to come up with the score just right, and as the home team. And then, against a flamethrowing reliever, you have to leave the yard.
Three times isn't a ton, but it's also three times that Smith had everything break his way and then delivered in the clutch like this.
The Dodgers should certainly keep this gene in mind going forward. Smith knows how to come through off the bench when it counts.
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