Dodgers' elimination ends remarkable streak of players named Will Smith winning the World Series

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Cite

Canfield, R. (2026, October 16). Dodgers' elimination ends remarkable streak of players named Will Smith winning the World Series. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/dodgers-elimination-ends-remarkable-streak-players-named-will-smith-winning-world-series

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-16 · by Ryan Canfield

Quick Summary

The Los Angeles Dodgers' elimination from the postseason marks the end of a unique trend where at least one player named Will Smith was on every World Series-winning team since 2019. Over this period, two different players—catcher Will Smith and relief pitcher Will Smith—won championships with multiple teams each, including the Houston Astros in 2022 and the Texas Rangers in 2023. The streak continued through 2025 when Dodgers catcher Will Smith won back-to-back titles, but the Milwaukee Brewers' sweep of the Dodgers this year ended the six-year run.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-16, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

The Los Angeles Dodgers' elimination from the postseason ends a remarkable streak of players named Will Smith winning the World Series since 2019. From 2020 to 2025, two different players named Will Smith were on World Series-winning teams each year: catcher Will Smith with the Dodgers in 2020, and reliever Will Smith with both the Atlanta Braves in 2021 and the Houston Astros in 2022. Reliever Will Smith was traded to the Astros after the 2021 season and helped them win the championship again in 2022. Following his contract expiration, he signed with the Texas Rangers ahead of the 2023 season but did not repeat this streak as the Rangers did not reach the World Series.

Written for “Dodgers Eliminated From World Series” on 2026-10-17, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Dodgers Eliminated From World Series
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 11% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Dodgers’ dream of World Series 3-peat unravels as Brewers storm back to sweep NLCS different event · 85%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 28 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles discuss the Dodgers' elimination in the NLCS on October 16, 2026, but Article B focuses specifically on the impact of losing players named Will Smith to the World Series rather than detailing the game itself.”
A Dodgers-less World Series would hurt now, but help MLB later | Bobby Burack different event · 70%
Fox News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 4 of 45 📰 publisher trust 67
“Article A discusses the Dodgers' chances of winning the World Series despite being down in the NLCS, while Article B specifically mentions the Dodgers' elimination from the postseason and its impact on players named Will Smith. Although both articles refer to the same team's performance in the playoffs, they describe different aspects of the event.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
11%
2 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

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Who wrote this

Ryan Canfield
43 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 With the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated from the postseason, the World Series is going to look a little different this year: There won't be any Will Smiths.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Dodgers' elimination ends remarkable streak of players named Will Smith winning the World Series
🔮 "They may have a bunch of Hall of Famers, but we have a bunch of gamers.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Brewers manager has epic quote straight from Hollywood script after sweeping vaunted Dodgers
🔮 Langley said she needed to make a decision she could live with.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Grammy winner praises Ella Langley for canceling concert over safety concerns: 'She did the right thing'
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · Dodgers star has blunt assessment of team's play after falling behind 3-0 in NLCS: 'Playing like s---'
🔮 The Dallas Cowboys legend said that while he may not like the way Swift’s appearances are perceived as controversial, there is nothing either of them can do to prevent that unless she stops attending games.
2026-10-15 · assertive framing · NFL legend Emmitt Smith defends Taylor Swift as her presence at games draws ire of football fans
🔮 This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Josh Allen's sweet Hailee Steinfeld moment caught on camera after the Bills' thrilling overtime win
🔮 "Kyle (looked across the field) and was like, ‘Tua in the game!’" Ravens star cornerback Marlon Humphrey recalled on a recent episode of "The Marlon Humphrey Show." This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Ravens star predicted his game-winning interception once he saw Tua Tagovailoa in game, teammate says
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2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Philadelphia sports hit rock bottom as Eagles, Phillies, Flyers all are having abysmal October
Also by Ryan Canfield
Brewers manager has epic quote straight from Hollywood script after sweeping vaunted Dodgers
2026-10-16 · Fox News
Grammy winner praises Ella Langley for canceling concert over safety concerns: 'She did the right thing'
2026-10-15 · Fox News
Dodgers star has blunt assessment of team's play after falling behind 3-0 in NLCS: 'Playing like s---'
2026-10-15 · Fox News
NFL legend Emmitt Smith defends Taylor Swift as her presence at games draws ire of football fans
2026-10-15 · Fox News
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 43 articles by Ryan Canfield →

Topics

Astros Dodgers World Series the Los Angeles Dodgers the World Series

Subjects

Will Smith PERSON · 8× Dodgers ORG · 5× Smith PERSON · 5× Astros ORG · 2× FOX ORG · 1× FOX News ORG · 1× any Will Smiths PERSON · 1× the Atlanta Braves ORG · 1× the Houston Astros ORG · 1× the Los Angeles Dodgers ORG · 1×

Narrative

Smith signed with the Texas Rangers ahead of the 2023 season and achieved the improbable: winning a World Series with three different teams after the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 Fall Classic.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-16
🔮 With the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated from the postseason, the World Series is going to look a little different this year: There won't be any Will Smiths.
2026-10-16 · Fox News
Dodgers' elimination ends remarkable streak of players named Will Smith winning the World Series · assertive framing

Claims (19 extracted, 2 hedged)

With the Los Angeles Dodgers eliminated from the postseason, the World Series is going to look a little different this year: There won't be any Will Smiths. asserted
Series → eliminate → postseason
With the Dodgers’ elimination on Thursday, this year will mark the first time since 2019 that the World Series champion will not have a player named Will Smith on its roster. asserted
champion → mark → roster
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. uncertain
page → contain → partners
If you sign up or place a wager, FOX News may be compensated. uncertain
News → sign → wager
This content was created by a team that works independently from the FOX newsroom. asserted
that → create → newsroom
From 2020 through 2025, two different players named Will Smith were members of World Series-winning teams. asserted
players → name → teams
In 2020, catcher Will Smith won with the Dodgers. asserted
Smith → win → Dodgers
Then reliever Will Smith made sure the trend continued. asserted
trend → make → ?
Reliever Smith won the World Series with the Atlanta Braves in 2021. asserted
Smith → win → 2021
At the trade deadline the following season, the Houston Astros acquired Smith from the Braves to fortify their bullpen. asserted
Astros → acquire → bullpen
The Astros went on to win the World Series in 2022, marking three straight seasons in which a Will Smith had won it all. asserted
Smith → go → it
After the 2022 season, the Astros declined Smith’s club option, and he became a free agent. asserted
he → decline → option
Smith signed with the Texas Rangers ahead of the 2023 season and achieved the improbable: winning a World Series with three different teams after the Rangers beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2023 Fall Classic. asserted
Rangers → sign → Classic
After the 2023 World Series, Smith signed with the Kansas City Royals. asserted
Smith → sign → Royals
The Royals, however, were eliminated in the ALDS by the New York Yankees. asserted
Royals → eliminate → Yankees
Dodgers catcher Will Smith then picked up the slack, as the Dodgers not only won the World Series in 2024, but in 2025 as well. asserted
Dodgers → pick → 2025
Relief pitcher Will Smith has not pitched in the major leagues since 2024, so when the Milwaukee Brewers swept the Dodgers, it put an end to the remarkable Will Smith streak. asserted
it → pitch → streak
That is, unless Oscar-winning actor Will Smith gets signed by the eventual World Series champion and joins the active roster ahead of the Fall Classic. asserted
Smith → win → Classic
But even that seems a little too farfetched for Hollywood. asserted
that → seem → Hollywood
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