Louisville Native Will Smith Realized Childhood Dream With Winning World Series Homer

By RUSS BROWN • Photos By UofL Athletics

So, what was Louisville native Will Smith doing a week after etching his name in major league baseball history and Los Angeles Dodgers lore with the swing of his life? Working both the drive-through and indoor dining area at an LA fast food restaurant. 

Probably not what you would expect from a World Series hero. But Will Smith isn’t a typical, aloof star; he is still very much the same guy he was as the University of Louisville’s standout catcher a decade ago, which is to say humble, reserved, steady, caring, kind and grounded. 

So there he was, wearing a headset and handing out various chicken items at Raising Cane’s on Sunset Boulevard, posing for pictures and signing boxes for Dodger fans to benefit his family’s Catching Hope Foundation. Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves had promised a $50,000 donation, but he doubled it to $100,000 when he saw how successful the event was. 

Smith and his wife, Cara, started Catching Hope in 2021 to help underprivileged children in the LA area with critical skills needed for leadership, self-advocacy, and self-sufficiency. The organization aids students in developing the tools to help them achieve success, starting with those who need it most. CHF also donated Nike merchandise to the West End School in Louisville, enabling it to purchase new supplies for its sports teams.

“I’m still tired,” Smith told a reporter between orders. “But you just keep fighting. It’s the World Series. You get to rest after. It’s been incredible. We’ve really felt loved by the LA community.” 

Smith, who began playing baseball in the St. Matthews Little League, fulfilled a childhood dream by providing the game-winning home run in the Dodgers’ 5-4, 11-inning victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in the seventh game of the Fall Classic as LA became the first team in a quarter century to win back-to-back World Series championships. 

As he headed down the first base line in Rogers Centre in Toronto watching the flight of the ball, the normally taciturn former Kentucky Country Day star yelled, “Go ball, go ball.” 

The shot left Smith’s bat at 104.6 mph velocity and soared 336 feet over the left field wall and the Jays’ bullpen. It came against Toronto reliever Shane Bieber on a 2-0 pitch over the heart of the plate. 

“He hung a slider and I banged it,” Smith said in a postgame TV interview. “I was just hoping I got enough. I was fired up. We knew we needed to get a run there. To be able to come through in the clutch, that was huge. You dream of those moments. Extra innings, to put your team ahead. I’ll remember that one forever. That was just. . . that was special.” It was also a moment that will be replayed for years to come. 

“It’s probably going to rank up there for him for sure,” Dodgers infielder Max Muncy said. “But make no mistake, there are going to be a lot of those moments for him. He’s going to be here for a long time. What a hit man. What a hit.”

Smith, a three-time World Series champ as well as a triple MLB All-Star, recorded another historic milestone by working all 74 innings of the Series behind the plate, the most ever by a catcher. That was two more than Lou Criger caught for the Boston Americans (now the Red Sox) in the 1903 Series. 

The postseason marked a significant comeback as Smith, who suffered a fracture in his right (throwing) hand on Sept. 3, was able to play in only one of the last 23 games of the regular season and didn’t play in the Wild Card round of the National League Playoffs. But he came back strong, driving in go-ahead runs in Games 2 and 6 of the Series and catching every pitch of LA’s 18-inning loss in Game 3. 

He returned to the starting lineup in Game 2 of the National League Division Series vs. Philadelphia and did not miss an inning during the rest of the Dodgers’ run. He said he started feeling like himself again in Game 2 of the Series. “Something clicked,” he said. 

Smith was taken by the Dodgers with the 32nd pick of the 2016 draft for a $1.775 million signing bonus following his junior season at U of L in which he hit .382 with 43 RBI in 55 games. He made his major league debut in 2019 and quickly earned the respect of his teammates for his quiet presence, prompting Freddie Freeman to nickname him “the quiet assassin.” 

Smith signed a 10-year, $140 million contract extension last March, the longest for a catcher in MLB history. 

“To me, he kind of epitomizes a lot of the success that we’ve had,” said Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman. “He checks so many of those boxes, and has been a huge part of our success looking back. And we’re excited he’s going to be a huge part of our success looking forward.” 

Dodgers Hall of Fame-bound pitcher Clayton Kershaw went a step further. “He’s a superstar,” Kershaw told The Athletic. “When you talk about superstars on our team, he’s a superstar. He really is. He might not get the publicity of these other guys, but he’s a superstar.” 

U of L coach Dan McDonnell has a picture on his desk in his office at James Patterson Stadium of Smith holding the 2020 World Series trophy won against the Tampa Bay Rays. 

“It’s not often you have a local kid that plays at your university and is one of the best players in the game,” McDonnell told WDRB prior to the Series. “In the time that he was here, we might have won more games in that three-year stretch than any other.” 

Now McDonnell might have to clear out more room on his desk or walls for more photos of Smith next year as the Dodgers go for a threepeat that would match the New York Yankees teams from 1998-2000. 

It’s not only Smith who has a deep connection with Louisville -- it’s also his bat. He used his D200 Powerized Birch signature model, made at the Louisville Slugger Museum and Factory downtown on Main Street, to make baseball history. 

The Museum wasted no time recognizing Smith’s feat, putting on a display a game-used version of the same bat, including pine tar smudges, ball marks and contact scars from the 2025 season. It is part of the museum’s permanent collection. It is 34 inches, weighs 3.5 ounces, features a natural wood handle with a black gloss barrel and was made by hand in the iconic Slugger factory that has produced major league bats for 141 years.