The hierarchy of stars was obvious even in the table arrangements.<\/p>\n
At an All-Star Game<\/a> media day event on Monday at the Roxy Coca-Cola Theater in Atlanta, the Dodgers<\/a>\u2019 five All-Star representatives were in the same area of the large venue.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In the first row, basking under large spotlights near an elevated stage, Shohei Ohtani<\/a>, Freddie Freeman<\/a> and Clayton Kershaw<\/a> were positioned front and center, expected to attract so many reporters that retractable ropes lined the perimeter of their podiums.<\/p>\n Several feet behind them, in the shadows of a balcony overhang, sat Will Smith<\/a> and Yoshinobu Yamamoto<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read more: Rob Manfred: MLB won’t cancel the 2028 All-Star Game for the Olympics<\/a><\/p>\n An obvious A-List, followed by a clear B-group.<\/p>\n And even then, where Yamamoto\u2019s media contingent stretched several rows deep, Smith\u2019s rarely swelled beyond a few people.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n He was a third-time All-Star, National League starter and batting title contender \u2014 once again relegated to the background of the sport’s public consciousness.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s up there as far as being overlooked,\u201d Dodgers manager and NL All-Star skipper Dave Roberts<\/a> said of his ever-present but easily forgotten backstop. \u201cYou know what you\u2019re going to get, but you probably don\u2019t appreciate it as much as you should.\u201d<\/p>\n Appreciated, Smith has not been this year. Not fully, at the very least.<\/p>\n Entering the All-Star break, the 30-year-old slugger is a distant leader in the NL batting race, sporting a .323 mark that outpaces the next closest qualified hitter (his recently slumping teammate, Freeman) by a whopping 26 points.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Smith also has 12 home runs, 46 RBIs, and a .965 OPS (which trails only his two-way teammate, Ohtani) in addition to a 15% walk rate (fifth-best in the league).<\/p>\n Read more: Shaikin: Live from Atlanta: The next front in the war between MLB owners and players<\/a><\/p>\n According to Fangraphs\u2019 all-encompassing wRC+ metric, only Yankees superstar Aaron Judge and Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh<\/a> have been more productive hitters this season.<\/p>\n And he\u2019s done it all while shepherding a banged-up Dodgers pitching staff, helping keep the team atop the NL West despite it having used 35 different arms through the first half of the year.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cFor him to go out there, catching these guys, having your team in first place, and then you\u2019re hitting .325, I don\u2019t think people are paying attention to that,\u201d Freeman said Monday, peering through a forest of reporters to catch a glimpse of Smith over his shoulder. \u201cPeople are gonna tune into the All-Star Game, they\u2019ll throw his numbers up on the TV, and they\u2019re gonna be like, \u2018Whoa, that\u2019s a really good season.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n But for as well as Smith has played, the seven-year veteran remains somewhat obscured from the public spotlight.<\/p>\n He is, as Roberts jokingly puts it, the most \u201cvanilla\u201d<\/a> of the team\u2019s collection of spotlight talent. He doesn\u2019t have jaw-dropping highlights<\/a> like Ohtani. He doesn\u2019t have a signature World Series moment<\/a> such as Freeman. He isn\u2019t excelling at a new position such as Mookie Betts<\/a>. And even when he is swarmed by reporters around the ballpark, it\u2019s usually to field questions about catching the Dodgers\u2019 star Japanese trio of Ohtani, Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I don\u2019t really care,\u201d he said Monday. \u201cThat stuff has never been important to me. Being \u2018the guy\u2019 or not, any of that. I show up, play baseball every day, try to help the team win, try to be a good teammate, try to lead the pitchers, and ultimately try to win a World Series<\/a> every year. That\u2019s what\u2019s important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n This year, Smith was voted an All-Star starter for the first time by fans. But, he isn\u2019t even the most talked about catcher at this week\u2019s festivities in Atlanta, overshadowed again by Raleigh and his 38 first-half home runs \u2014 making the slugger affectionately known as \u201cBig Dumper,\u201d who also won the Home Run Derby on Monday night, the best current catcher in baseball in the eyes of many around the sport.<\/p>\n \u201cWill\u2019s just always kind of really under the radar, for whatever reason,\u201d Kershaw said. \u201cHe\u2019s been unbelievable for us, at a position that\u2019s really important and very demanding.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more: Hern\u00e1ndez: MLB can\u2019t afford to miss out on Shohei Ohtani vs. Aaron Judge in Home Run Derby<\/a><\/p>\n For Smith, the true joy of this year has simply been his health.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Two years ago, he slumped mightily in the second half of 2023 (finishing the year with a .797 OPS) while battling a broken rib he had suffered that April. This spring, Roberts revealed that Smith\u2019s underwhelming performance in 2024 (when he posted more career lows with a .248 average and .760 OPS) was hampered by an ankle injury<\/a> that again plagued his second-half performance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last couple years, I had some, not major things, but some tough injuries,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBut that\u2019s my decision to play through them.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, however, he is back at full physical capacity, allowing him to work counts (he has almost as many walks, 45, as strikeouts, 55), punish fastballs (a pitch he struggled against<\/a> the last two years) and maintain the most consistent production of any hitter in the Dodgers\u2019 juggernaut lineup.<\/p>\n \u201cI just feel like I have a really good understanding of my swing right now,\u201d Smith said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long season, it comes and goes. But for whatever reason this year, I\u2019ve been able to keep it more than I haven\u2019t. So that\u2019s been fun. Credit to the hitting coaches as well for keeping me in that spot. I just have a really good understanding of what I\u2019m doing up there.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In his typically modest fashion, Smith sidestepped a question about his chances of winning the batting title, something no catcher has done since Buster Posey in 2012.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never been one to chase awards or anything,\u201d he said. \u201cI think when you do that, it probably doesn\u2019t go your way, you put too much pressure [on yourself]. So just trying to have one good at-bat at a time, help the team win that day.\u201d<\/p>\n At his current pace, he could be a recipient for MVP votes for the first time in his career as well, although the Dodgers\u2019 careful management of his playing time has left him ranked ninth in the NL in wins above replacement to this point, according to Fangraphs.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat he\u2019s doing is Buster Posey-ish, Joe Mauer-ish,\u201d Freeman said, citing the only other backstop this century with a batting title (Mauer won three with Minnesota in the late 2000s). \u201cWhen you\u2019re leading the league in hitting and you\u2019re catching, it\u2019s really hard to do. You\u2019re calling games. It\u2019s almost like they\u2019re more worried about putting up a zero than they are about hitting.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Read more: Jacob Misiorowski is the talk of the All-Star Game. Why Dodgers are partially to thank<\/a><\/p>\n In time, Freeman believes, Smith\u2019s Q-rating will continue to rise, especially if he keeps replicating the kind of numbers he has posted this season.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it just takes maybe a couple times [being here at the All-Star Game],\u201d Freeman said. \u201cWe all know in L.A. how special he is. Obviously, the front office extended him 10 years. So, hopefully now that he\u2019s starting in the All-Star Game, he\u2019s gonna get that national recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n But even if he doesn\u2019t, he hardly seems to be bothered by his second-tier (and, on Monday, second-row) status.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI just think he\u2019s resolved to not having to be at the forefront,\u201d Roberts said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t ever self-promote. He doesn\u2019t need notoriety or attention. He just wants to win. Some players thrive on getting attention. He\u2019s certainly not one of those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n