Former Braves Star's Improbable Streak Comes to End

Former Braves reliever Will Smith will be eliminated from the postseason for the first time in quite a bit

Former Braves reliever Will Smith sees crazy streak of his snapped Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images / David Kohl-Imagn Images

Former Atlanta Braves reliever Will Smith saw an unreal streak come to an end. With the elimination of the Kansas City Royals from the MLB postseason, Smith will not win the World Series for the first time since 2020. 

Smith made history as the first player to win three straight World Series with three different teams. His streak began with when the Atlanta Braves won it all in 2021. 

He dominated for the Braves for that World Series run, pitching 11 scoreless innings with eight strikeouts. He had the honor of closing out the World Series in the ninth inning of Game Six, clinching the Braves' first World Series title since 1995. 

Mid-way through the following season, the Braves flipped Smith to the Astros at the deadline for starting pitcher Jake Odorizzi. He didn’t end up on the World Series roster, yet he still got a ring when the Astros took down the Phillies in six. 

Staying in Texas but heading north to Arlington, Smith signed with the Rangers for 2023. This time around he was back in the bullpen for the postseason. His run with the Rangers didn’t go as smoothly as with the Braves with a 10.80 ERA across 3 1/3 innings pitched. But the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games to clinch a third-straight ring. 

Fun fact, there was a chance for Smith to have had a fourth ring and second one clinched in Arlington - just not with the Rangers. In the bizarre 2020 COVID-19-shortened season, the Braves were in the NLCS against the Dodgers. The games were played at a neutral site at the Rangers ballpark in Arlington, Texas. 

The Braves led the series 3-1 with a 2-1 lead in Game Five. Smith needed to escape a jam with two outs with two runners on in the top of the sixth innings. But he couldn’t escape it. He gave up a three-run shot to none other than Dodgers catcher Will Smith to give up the lead. The Braves lost the game and blew that 3-1 lead. 

So Will Smith lost out, in part, on starting his streak a year earlier because he gave up a dinger to a guy with the same name as him. It was a matchup that was the first of its kind in the postseason. Funny how that works out. 

However, he very much made up for it a year later and got the last laugh two other times. Hard to imagine he doesn’t do it exactly how it played out every time.