Signing a player named Will Smith might be the surest way for a team to win the World Series.
When the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees on Wednesday, they became the fifth straight team to win the World Series with a player named Will Smith on the roster. This year’s Will Smith is the Dodgers’ starting catcher, a 29-year-old Kentucky native who was L.A.’s first-round draft pick in 2016. He made his MLB debut in 2019 and has been the Dodgers’ starting catcher since 2021.
The ring Smith won Wednesday was his second. He won his first as part of the 2020 Dodgers, who won the World Series in the pandemic-shortened season.
The Will Smith World Series streak began in 2020 and has continued to 2024, and there’s another man responsible for keeping it going during those in between years: Will Smith. No, not that Will Smith. A different Will Smith. Not the catcher or the actor/musician, but a relief pitcher.
The non-Dodgers Will Smith is the player who first made this strange little streak famous. As a lefty reliever, he was on the playoff roster for all three World Series champions from 2021 to 2023: the 2021 Atlanta Braves, the 2022 Houston Astros and the 2023 Texas Rangers. He is the first MLB player to win the World Series in three consecutive years with three different teams.
Incredibly, the Will Smith streak has a solid chance of continuing not just next year but for many years into the future. The Dodgers are already favored to win the 2025 World Series, and they’ve signed their catcher Will Smith to a contract that lasts through 2033. The Dodgers appear ready to find out how many consecutive years a player named Will Smith can win a World Series ring.
