How the Dodgers' Will Smith became one of baseball's best catchers
When the final out of the 2020 World Series was recorded, Will Smith was on the Dodgers' bench.
A year and a half into his big league career, it was clear Smith was the team's catcher of the future. During the pandemic-shortened season, he was perhaps the Dodgers' most productive bat.
But at just 25 years old, and still relatively new to a position he started playing regularly only in college, Smith wasn't ready to be the full-time backstop.
He shared catching duties with Austin Barnes, starting 31 of the 60 games behind the plate. He moved into more of a designated hitting role by the end of that postseason, catching only three of the Dodgers' final eight playoff games.
His impact that October was crucial nonetheless, highlighted, the Atlanta Braves pitcher, that spurred the Dodgers' comeback from a three-games-to-one deficit in the National League Championship Series.
