Los Angeles Dodgers star catcher Will Smith ate his words this week as a rival player he had strong words for early in the season surprisingly became his teammate for a game.
The rivalry between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres has heated up in recent years as both have become consistent playoff teams in the National League. Naturally, that has led to confrontation between the squads.
In an early-season contest between the two squads, that was certainly the case. On April 13, the benches cleared after Padres outfielder Jurickson Profar thought the Dodgers intentionally threw the ball at him during an at bat.
L.A.’s Smith had thoughts on the situation afterwards, according to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
“I don’t know why we would have thrown at him,” Smith said. “He’s kind of irrelevant.”
At the time, it was hard to argue with Smith’s assessment. A formerly hyped-prospect, Profar’s career had been marred by injuries and disappointing appearances in the major leagues.
But the longtime Texas Ranger, now 31 years old and in his second stint in San Diego, broke out this season, earning his first career MLB All-Star Game appearance. Across 97 games, he has a .305 batting average with 14 home runs and 59 RBIs, all on pace for career highs.
Smith also made the All-Star Game this season, his second. Both players are members of National League squads, meaning they were teammates for this year’s mid-summer classic.
Awkward.
Will Smith was, of course, asked about the April tiff at the All-Star festivities this week, and had nothing but praise for his rival down south.
“It was the situation only. My bad. It was nothing personal,” Smith said, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. “He’s fiery, plays hard. He’s a competitor. In competition, the best and worst comes out of us. He’s a competitor and a good player.”
Profar said he understood that the trash talk was just part of the game. He said the two had not spoken at the All-Star Game near Dallas as of Monday, but he wasn’t afraid to see Smith.
“It’s going to be OK,” Profar said, according to the Union-Tribune. “He’s another baseball player. He’s not the enemy.”
Profar went 1-for-2 in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, scoring on Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani’s 3-run home run. Smith also earned one hit off of two at-bats.
The National League fell to the American League 5-3.
