BIOGRAPHY
William Smith was born March 28, 1995, in Louisville, Kentucky. He is a catcher in the MLB.
Smith began 2019 with Oklahoma City but was promoted to the majors for the first time on May 27, 2019. He made his major league debut the following day against the New York Mets and had two hits in four at-bats as the starting catcher. His first major league hit was a single off Steven Matz in the second inning. Smith's first MLB home run was a walk-off against Héctor Neris of the Philadelphia Phillies on June 1, 2019. On June 23, 2019, Smith hit a walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against the Colorado Rockies. It was the third straight game the Dodgers won on a walk-off home run by a rookie, an MLB record.
In 2021, his first full season and third overall of his career, Smith played in 130 games for the Dodgers and hit .258/.365/.495 with new career highs of 25 home runs and 76 RBIs. Of his 130 games played, Smith played third base and first base for one game each as well as serving as a pinch-runner or designated hitter for 16 games while playing catcher for the remaining 117 games.
In 2022, Smith played in 137 games for the Dodgers, which included 109 at catcher and another 25 as the designated hitter. He had a .260 batting average, with 24 home runs and 87 RBIs.
Smith signed a $5.25 million contract with the Dodgers in his first year of salary arbitration.
Smith began 2024 by agreeing to a $8.55 million contract, a record amount for a catcher in his second season of salary arbitration. On March 27, Smith then signed a 10-year, $140 million contract extension with the Dodgers keeping him until the 2033 season.
