A juggernaut offense and lights-out bullpen were driving forces for the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2024 World Series, with each shining at various times if not together.
Without 23.2 scoreless innings from their bullpen across five games, the Dodgers likely don’t make it past the San Diego Padres in the National League Division Series.
Without the offense scoring three of their 46 total runs of the NL Championship Series in the eighth inning of Game 6 against the New York Mets, the ninth to close it out gets a little more interesting with all the Dodgers’ high-leverage relievers used up and Blake Treinen working for a multi-inning save.
However, Will Smith’s role in the success of the Dodgers’ pitching staff got lost in the shuffle. There is a ton of preparation needed to not only manage a conventional game with a starting pitcher and a handful of relievers.
A catcher has to put together a plan for each opposing hitter based on how his pitcher likes to attack, how that compares to the batter’s strengths and weaknesses, and many other factors.
The amount of calculations needed from the catcher increases exponentially when dealing with bullpen games, where there could be around nine or so different pitchers entering throughout the game. Which is why Smith’s performance behind the plate becomes even more extraordinary when the Dodgers’ bullpen games this postseason are factored in.
“I think this series, and this playoffs, I think is as in sync with the pitching staff as Will has ever been, and he’s calling really good games. I trust what he sees more than anyone,” Walker Buehler said during October.
“I trust what he sees more than what I see. So I think that’s just a tip of the cap to him.”
Buehler was among several Dodgers pitchers who found a rhythm with Smith in the playoffs. The right-hander ended the postseason with a scoreless streak of 13 innings, which included a save to close out the World Series.
Will Smith’s 2024 postseason
After a very strong showing in the NLDS last season, Smith struggled mightily in the batter’s box this October.
Smith started in all 16 of the Dodgers’ playoff games, but hit just .143/.246/.321 with one double, three home runs and eight RBI.
That prompted manager Dave Roberts to drop Smith in the Dodgers lineup as he looked to take pressure off the backstop from his usual cleanup spot.
Smith was among 24 players to hit multiple home runs this October, and part of only three catchers to do so.
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