For the first time since 2019, a Will Smith will not hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy, bringing an end to an absolutely wild streak of six straight World Series championships that always featured a player with that name. It’s a bizarre, multi-player dynasty for the record books, and it’s officially run its course.
The Unreal Run of the Will Smiths
You gotta hand it to the Will Smiths of baseball, what a run. From 2020 through 2025, a player named Will Smith was on the championship team every single year. Seriously, six straight seasons! We’re talking about two different guys here: the Dodgers catcher, Will Smith, and the lefty relief pitcher, also named Will Smith, who has since retired. These two played for teams that won championships every season during that crazy run, a totally unique situation in baseball history.
Think about it: the Dodgers catcher snagged rings in 2020, 2024, and 2025. Then the lefty pitcher pulled off his own hat trick with the Braves in 2021, the Astros in 2022, and the Rangers in 2023. This wasn’t some fluke. This was a bona fide, multi-player legacy of winning that kept fans guessing who would get their name etched on the trophy next.
When Will Smith Met Will Smith: An Epic NLCS Showdown
But before they started collecting rings separately, these two converged in one of the most memorable matchups in recent playoff history. Back in the 2020 National League Championship Series, the Dodgers were staring down a 3-1 deficit against the Atlanta Braves. In Game 5, with the Dodgers already trailing 2-1 in the sixth inning, Mookie Betts was on second with two outs when the lefty Smith came out of the bullpen. He walked Max Muncy on six pitches. And who steps up to the plate next? The other Will Smith, the Dodgers catcher. The count went full, and then BOOM: a three-run home run off pitcher Smith. That shot flipped the game, turning a deficit into a 7-3 Dodgers win. Talk about an advantage, Will Smith!
That home run was the only hit the catcher managed off his pitching namesake in seven tries. In their other matchups, back in 2019 when the lefty was with the Giants, and then in 2021-2022 with the Braves, the catcher was actually hitless in six at-bats against him, striking out three times. So, that 2020 blast was huge, a defining moment between them.
The Streak Ends: No Will Smith for the 2026 Crown
The Dodgers went on to win that 2020 NLCS, then snapped a 32-year championship drought by beating the Tampa Bay Rays in the World Series. The next year, the lefty Smith was on the Atlanta team that broke its own 26-year title drought. It’s almost poetic how these two were involved in ending major droughts while building their own shared legacy of winning. Fast forward to 2025, and the Dodgers’ Will Smith, the catcher, really punctuated his part of the streak. He won another one, hitting the series-winning home run in the 11th inning of Game 7. Plus, he set a record by catching all 73 innings of that World Series. What a way to go out!
But all good things, even the most improbable ones, must come to an end. This year, 2026, the Will Smith World Series streak is officially over. Why? Because you won’t find a Will Smith playing for the Milwaukee Brewers or the Tampa Bay Rays. So, while we’ll still get an epic championship, it just won’t have that familiar, winning Will Smith touch. It was a hell of a ride for the Will Smiths.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by True Blue LA.
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