Since his debut in 2019, no catcher in baseball has been better offensively than Smith, who has been 31 percent better than a league-average hitter by OPS+.Īnd Smith’s steady excellence is what has made him one of the preeminent catchers in the sport. It’s his presence in the middle of their order, with a 1.057 OPS through 99 plate appearances, that made losing a hitter of Trea Turner’s quality this winter easier to swallow (though their lack of a shortstop is a different story). It’s what makes Smith as invaluable as anyone in the Dodgers lineup, as the club learned in going 6-7 during Smith’s recent 13-game absence due to a concussion. Earlier this season, manager Dave Roberts called him almost “vanilla” in the level of personality he injects into interviews and day-to-day interactions.īut Smith is always there. Asked to break down a late-inning sequence after a game, he’ll provide a play-by-play as bare bones as possible. As he navigates the room, hours before a game, a scouting report is usually not far behind. The 28-year-old keeps things efficient and direct, as short as his swing that carries so much thump. Smith is steady to the point of almost bland.
His ability to blend into the background emphasized what Smith has always done well, and what has defined the now-regular presence in the heart of the Dodgers lineup and behind the plate. When he did speak, Muncy said, the questions he asked spoke volumes. “For someone to be able to do that is pretty impressive.
“He was everywhere but you also never noticed he was there,” Max Muncy said. If anything, he made it hard to tell there was anything out of the ordinary.
The young backstop didn’t announce his presence. “Looking back on it, it was really smart. “(It was about) understanding the expectations and then growing into the role and understanding what he had to do personally for it,” said Lehmann, who has since been promoted to be the Dodgers’ bench coach. You’re around it in spring training and stuff, but that’s their day, each and every day I was there.” He could feel the pressures of strapping on the gear every day in those circumstances without actually being under such pressure. He saw each pendulum swing over September, where a close race meant each day could bring with it an emotional tide shift and add even more stress to a tense environment. More than learning about how the Dodgers would go about attacking the likes of Matt Carpenter or Harrison Bader, he learned how to navigate. Vasquez / USA Today)įor Smith, the lessons were subtle. Since his debut in 2019, Smith has been 31 percent better than a league-average hitter by OPS+.
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