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Dodgers’ Will Smith on Verge of Historic Feat No Catcher Has Achieved in Years

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jake Elman | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 1:13 PM ET

His team may be slumping and now occupying second place in the NL West, but Los Angeles Dodgers catcher Will Smith is quietly putting together one of the greatest seasons by a catcher in recent memory.

Smith went 1-for-3 with three RBI, two coming on a first-inning home run, in Wednesday’s 6-5 loss to the Angels. The Dodgers’ recent struggles make it easy to forget — or simply not realize — that Smith has quietly put together an MVP-caliber season; the three-time All-Star is hitting .312 with 15 home runs, 54 RBIs, and a .940 OPS.

In fact, Smith is on the verge of doing something that no Dodgers catcher has done this century. In addition to his .312 average, Smith has a league-high .416 on-base percentage and an impressive .524 slugging percentage. Only three catchers — Jorge Posada, Joe Mauer, and Buster Posey — have recorded a .300/.400/.500 campaign since 2000.

Remarkably, Mauer did it three times within a six-season span from 2004-09. The Hall of Fame backstop posted a career-high 7.8 bWAR and earned AL MVP honors in that last season, though the AL Central-winning Twins lost to Posada’s Yankees in the ALDS.

Will Smith goes yard to make it a 3-run 1st inning for the @Dodgers pic.twitter.com/97kTnX9Svu
— MLB (@MLB) August 14, 2025

Additionally, no Dodgers catcher has ever led the National League or Major League Baseball in on-base percentage since the World Series era began in 1903. It’d be the third time in the last four years that a Dodger topped the National League in on-base percentage, joining Freddie Freeman (.407 in 2022) and Shohei Ohtani (.390) last year.

Smith also leads the NL in hitting, putting him in position to join Tommy Davis (1962 and 1963) as the only Dodgers to win the batting title following their 1958 arrival in Los Angeles. That list also technically includes ex-Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner, whose .328 average led baseball in 2021, though he split the season between the Dodgers and Washington Nationals.

Unfortunately for Smith and the Dodgers, they’re trailing in the NL West for the first time since April 27. Los Angeles is only 10-14 in the second half despite outscoring opponents 108-97 in that stretch.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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