As he has done every season since being named president of baseball operations for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2014, Andrew Friedman met with reporters when pitchers and catchers reported for spring training 2019. The purpose of this annual media scrum was for Friedman to share with reporters the state of the team as it enters a brand new season.

It was during this informal press conference in the executive lounge at Camelback Ranch on February 13, 2019 that those in attendance heard the Dodgers president proclaim that then 23-year-old catcher Will Smith, who had received a non-roster invitation to major league camp, was “a Hall of Fame catcher.”

As you might expect, such a proclamation from the Dodgers president caused an immediate buzz in the room, not to mention a lot of raised eyebrows. Keep in mind that as we sit here today, there is exactly one former Dodgers catcher enshrined in the sacred Halls of Cooperstown – the great Roy Campanella. (Two if you count former Dodgers catcher Mike Piazza, who was enshrined wearing a Mets hat).

When the buzz finally settled, Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett asked the question that everyone in the room was thinking: “Wait a minute, you’re saying that Will Smith is a Hall of Fame catcher?” Without hesitation or any sign of doubt, Friedman answered “Absolutely,” adding that the young Louisville, Kentucky native and Dodgers first-round draft pick in 2016 out of the University of Louisville was every bit “a five-tool player.”

Although Friedman briefly discussed the other 20 non-roster invitees in major league camp, it was Smith who reporters continued talking about after the session ended.

…except one.

Yours truly had seen Smith play during the latter part of the 2016 season and most of the 2017 season with the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the highly-competitive California League. (Yes, I was the one grinning when Friedman made his Hall of Fame comment, although even I was surprised by his lofty assessment).

The mere fact that Smith was even at Rancho Cucamonga in the same calendar year in which he was drafted is extremely rare, yet alone being promoted to Double-A Tulsa at the end of the 2017 season (for one game). The 5′-10″ / 195-pound backstop also received an invitation to the prestigious Arizona Fall League in 2017 before returning to the Drillers for 73 games in 2018, until his promotion to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers, where he appeared in 25 games. Smith began the 2019 season back at OKC, appearing in 38 games before his call-up to the major league club on May 27 (as first reported by ThinkBlue LA), when Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes landed on the injured list for a left groin strain.

As every Dodger fan on the planet knows by now, the now 24-year-old Smith hit his first major league home run on Saturday night in front of a sold out Dodger Stadium crowd of 53,507. But it wasn’t just any first home run, it was a walk-off home run to give the Dodgers a 4-3 win over the National League East first place Philadelphia Phillies. In doing so, Smith became only the fifth player in Dodgers history to hit a walk-off home run as their first career home run. Ironically, four of those five were also catchers, with the last being Dioner Navarro in 2005.

“That was awesome,” Smith told SportsNet LA’s Alanna Rizzo, after being ‘Gatoraded’ by teammates Joc Pederson and Cody Bellinger. “I mean, that was the first walk-off I’ve ever had, first home run in the big leagues. Couldn’t ask for a bigger stage or a bigger moment. I’ll remember that forever.”

“That’s going to be a memorable homer for Will,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. “Man, the first one is always memorable, but at home, packed house, a walk-off against a closer, that was fun. That was a lot of fun.”

There is one caveat to all of this Will Smith stuff. Despite hitting his first of what figures to be many career major league home runs, he will, in all likelihood, be optioned back to Triple-A OKC when Barnes is ready to return from the 10-day injured list, which will probably happen within the next week or so. Yes, there is certainly the possibility that the Dodgers might elect to carry three catchers, but this seems rather remote.

But regardless, well done, young man.

Cooperstown awaits.

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