When Major League Baseball announced the roster for the 2025 All-Star Game, it was no surprise to see William "Will" "Bill" Smith listed as the starting catcher for the National League. The backstop has been tremendous for the Dodgers since he debuted in 2019, and this season is on track to be his own personal best. Showing sturdy power, savvy plate discipline, and a sweet swing, Bill was apparently tired of hearing people say he "hits well for a catcher." Among NL batters, Bill is leading the field in average and on-base percentage, and his OPS is second only to his L.A. teammate Shohei Ohtani.
Said fellow Dodger Freddie Freeman, “People are gonna tune into the All-Star Game, they’ll throw his numbers up on the TV, and they’re gonna be like, ‘Whoa, that’s a really good season.’”
Bill is not one of the most internationally famous members of his star-studded, defending-champion squad. According to his manager Dave Roberts, "Some players thrive on getting attention. He’s certainly not one of those guys.” But the All-Star Game is a stage meant to spotlight individual brilliance. So let's look at how he fared in Atlanta on the second night of Bills Week.
This edition of the Midsummer Classic was a memorable one. The AL roared back from 6-0 down to force a home run shootout, but the comeback fell short when the junior circuit sent up some guy not named Aaron Judge or Cal Raleigh to go 0-for-3 on his swings. Bill's time in the spotlight had come earlier. Playing the first four innings and hitting sixth in the lineup, Bill went up to bat twice. In the first inning, after the NL had gotten on the board with a couple of runs, Bill struck out quickly with a runner on second and two outs. Tarik Skubal threw him three straight fastballs in the high, high 90s, and Bill let the first go by before swinging and missing at the next and last two. I've seen better from Bill. Bill's seen better from Bill.
In the fourth, with the score still 2-0, Bill came up against Joe Ryan of the Twins. He took a swing at the first pitch he saw, another fastball, and at least made contact this time. The ball soared high into the air and just beyond second base, where Gleyber Torres easily got under it to make the out. Those wondering "Bill he or won't he?" got their answer: Not this night.
You might think, based only on the at-bats, that this was a bland night for our buddy Bill. But one must not forget that he was also crouched behind the plate for four innings, calling a scoreless game for five different pitchers. Thanks to the intrusive microphones on this all-star broadcast, viewers actually got to hear Clayton Kershaw give away his pitches before throwing them. In one particular instance, when Vlad Guerrero Jr. whiffed hard at a sneaky curve that followed one that had just bounced on the plate, Bill looked like a genius.
"I think I probably gotta go slider," Kershaw said. "Let's see what [Bill] thinks, but I think I gotta go slider here. Nope, he wants curveball again. All right, fine."
At the all-star media event, Bill told reporters “I’ve never been one to chase awards or anything," but given the fact that the NL allowed all of their runs only after he was replaced at catcher by Colorado's Hunter Goodman, who is not a Bill, I can confidently award our man the MVB award. And even if that lead disappeared on the NL, and that final score is always going to look a little strange, Kyle Schwarber's dominant turn in the shootout meant that Bill Smith could go home a winner. It just goes to show that where there's a Bill, there's a way.
