Will Smith Talks About Matching Mike Piazza's Impressive Record

It's been a few years since the Dodgers had a catcher that could hit like Will Smith. Former Dodgers backstop Yasmani Grandal could hit for power, but piled up strikeouts like they were going out of style. Smith on the other hand has the best of both worlds: plate discipline and power. One could argue that he's the best offensive catcher in the game since making his big league debut in 2019.

On Monday against the Diamondbacks, Smith hit his second home run of the season. His dinger put him in very exclusive company. It tied with former Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza as the fastest NL catcher to reach 50 career home runs (233 games).

Apparently, the unassuming Smith wasn't even aware of his achievement. The catcher was informed by reporters about the milestone after the game. Smith reaction kind of tore at Dodgers fans' heart strings (quote via The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett.)

“Really? That’s cool. I grew up obviously knowing who he was and watching games and stuff. But I think I knew him more with the Mets [than the Dodgers].”

Smith was born in 1995 which is just three years before the Dodgers made one of the bigger mistake in franchise history - trading Piazza. Piazza was subsequently traded to the Mets where he would spend eight of his final ten years of his Hall-of-Fame career.

At the moment, it's not out of the question that Will Smith himself could one day be in the conversation for Hall-of-Fame enshrinement. Just give it...15 years and another 400 home runs.