Every World Series Winner of the 2020s Has Had a Will Smith in the Lineup
Daniel Jordan 
Want to Win a World Series? Step One: Sign a Will Smith
(CLAIR | Simi Valley, CA) — The count was full, the inning was long, and the Dodgers’ season was hanging by a thread. Toronto’s Rogers Centre was roaring — one strike away from silencing Los Angeles and ending the repeat dream.
Then came the swing.
A hanging slider, middle of the plate. Catcher Will Smith didn’t flinch. He turned on it, met it square, and sent the ball screaming into the left-field seats. The sound of the bat cracked through the noise like thunder. The crowd froze. The Dodgers dugout erupted.
It was 12:07 a.m. on a cold October night, and the Dodgers had just taken their first lead of Game 7 — a go-ahead home run that would crown them back-to-back champions and close one of the greatest World Series finales in modern baseball.
As the ball disappeared into the night, so did any remaining doubt. Smith, the homegrown star from Louisville, had written himself into postseason immortality — and, without realizing it, extended one of baseball’s strangest statistical miracles.
Six Years. Two Players. One Name.
| Year | Champion Team | Will Smith on roster? |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Yes — catcher Will Smith. MLB.com+3True Blue LA+3Wikipedia+3 |
| 2021 | Atlanta Braves | Yes — pitcher Will Smith. Wikipedia+2MLB.com+2 |
| 2022 | Houston Astros | Yes — the same pitcher Will Smith. MLB.com+1 |
| 2023 | Texas Rangers | Yes — the pitcher Will Smith again. Wikipedia+2MLB.com+2 |
| 2024 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Yes — catcher Will Smith. True Blue LA+1 |
| 2025 | Los Angeles Dodgers | Yes — catcher Will Smith. True Blue LA |
From 2020 through 2025, every single World Series champion has had one thing in common: a player named Will Smith.
It began with the Dodgers’ 2020 title, the first in 32 years, anchored by their young catcher’s poise and clutch hitting. A year later, another Will Smith — a quiet, left-handed reliever from Georgia — closed out the 2021 World Series for the Atlanta Braves. He then did it again with the Houston Astros in 2022, and yet again with the Texas Rangers in 2023 — three rings in three seasons with three different clubs.
When that run ended, the name found its way back home to Los Angeles. The Dodgers’ Will Smith picked up the thread in 2024, leading another dominant season and another parade down Vin Scully Avenue. Then, in 2025, his eleventh-inning home run against the Blue Jays sealed a dynasty — and kept the streak alive.
Six years. Six champions. All with a Will Smith.
The Night That Sealed the Myth
Game 7 was a knife fight. The Dodgers trailed 4-3 heading into the ninth, down to their final outs. Miguel Rojas — a utility infielder who hadn’t started most of the series — launched a game-tying homer that breathed life into Los Angeles.
Then came the chaos: a bases-loaded jam, a desperate bullpen, a spectacular outfield collision that saved the game. Shohei Ohtani’s early struggles had given way to Yoshinobu Yamamoto, pitching heroically on no rest. When Smith’s homer cleared the wall in the eleventh, Yamamoto stayed on to record the final outs — a double-play ball from Mookie Betts to Freddie Freeman ending it in perfect symmetry.
Afterward, Betts summed it up simply: “We just know how to win.”
Beyond Probability
The odds of two unrelated players sharing a name and collectively appearing on six consecutive championship rosters defy logic. Analysts estimate the likelihood at less than one in ten million.
The two men couldn’t be more different. The pitcher, a journeyman with nerves of steel, built his legacy in silence — a steady hand closing games no one else wanted. The catcher, the Dodgers’ cerebral field general, built his through preparation, timing, and a knack for delivering when it mattered most. Together, they’ve turned an ordinary name into the sport’s strangest good-luck charm.
A Joke That Became a Legend
By 2023, fans had stopped treating it as coincidence. “Who’s got the Will Smith this year?” became a running gag across social media. Broadcasters leaned into it, commentators winked at it, and even players joined in. “I guess the name travels well,” Smith joked after the Dodgers’ 2024 win.
But after his Game 7 blast in 2025, the laughter turned to awe. What began as a punchline had become folklore — a recurring name written across baseball’s modern era of dominance.
The Name That Won’t Stop Winning
That it’s Will Smith — a name already etched into Hollywood history — only deepens the irony. Six championships, two players, and one shared name have produced a narrative too cinematic to script.
From Atlanta to Arlington, Houston to Hollywood, the Will Smith Streak has transformed into a symbol of the game’s enduring mystery — the place where data ends and destiny begins.
And now, as the league looks toward 2026, one question lingers in every general manager’s mind:
Who’s signing the next Will Smith?
