Will (Smith) to win: How Dodgers catcher kept unusual World Series streak alive

Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts are just a few of the many stars that powered the Los Angeles Dodgers to their 2024 World Series triumph over the New York Yankees.

However, it may have been a catcher with a Hollywood namesake that was the key to a championship.

Will Smith caught the series-clinching strikeout from Walker Buehler to finish off Game 5 and give the Dodgers their eighth World Series title. In the process, he also extended one of the most confounding streaks in all of baseball.

For the fifth straight year, a player named Will Smith has won the World Series.

The Dodgers’ Will Smith started the streak in 2020 when L.A. defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in a COVID-shortened season. The Dodgers didn’t make it back to the Fall Classic until this season, so what happened in that three-year gap?

Well, not only does the catcher share the name with the famous actor.

There’s a third Will Smith.

That one is a veteran relief pitcher who collected three World Series rings with three different teams, becoming the first player in MLB history to pull off the feat.

His first came with the Atlanta Braves in 2021, the second with the Houston Astros in 2022 and the third with the Texas Rangers in 2023.

Want to know who will win the World Series in 2025? Look for Will Smith.

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