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What would Memorial Day weekend be without
the Dodgers All star catcher Will Smith.

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Thanks a lot for the time,
appreciate it. Yeah, good morning,

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good morning. I know you and
the yes quick turnaround. Weather is an

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issue. That's the reason why we're
here that early. What have you guys

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heard as far as trying to play
this game quickly? Nothing? I don't

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know. Apparently just moved it up
an hour and a half. So yeah,

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I hope we get it in get
out of here before the weather.

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It's I asked you earlier about this
ballpark and being so close to Louisville.

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How much did you come here as
a kid to watch baseball? A few

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times growing up? This is definitely
the closest, you know, Big Lee

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Ballpark to where I grew up.
Come here as a kid maybe once every

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year every two years or so.
Yeah, and when you're growing up in

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Louisville, obviously the bat Factory Louisville
Slugger is there. Did you ever go

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through there? I mean, Louisville
seems to be a hotbed of baseball during

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your period of time being in college. Yeah, uh yees had some really

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good college you know teammates, good
teams won a lot of games there.

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Uh yeah, I got the Little
Slugger Museum. So you know, baseball

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was always kind of around and you
know all that. But uh yeah,

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do you remember when you fell in
love with the game and specifically, uh

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this position that is so demanding.
Uh yeah. I always, you know,

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love baseball as a kid. I
love playing throwing in the backyard of

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my dad or whatever. Uh yeah. I really transitioned to college to being

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a catcher. You know, I
enjoyed it just being able to get on

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the field, and you know,
I probably just grown on me. Uh

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you know, being in control every
single pitch basically, So you know,

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I enjoy catching, enjoy trolling the
game, helping the pitchers out, just

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being part of the action. When
you talk about controlling the game, it's

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not just about calling pitches. It's
more about the tempo and seeing where your

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pitcher's at as well. Right,
we've seen you more times the last couple

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of years really taking control by giving
the picture a breather, by going out

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for a mountain visit. How important
is that to keep the tempo and when

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you see your picture kind of rushing
going out there and recognizing it for sure,

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Uh Connor McGinnis over there. Yeah, he's bugging honest, you have

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a surfer accent. By the way, he's from Virginia Beach. Yeah.

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I don't know, I've never noticed
that. You're probably right on that one.

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Uh yeah, No, you're just
you're just reading the picture. You

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got to figure out what, you
know, what they need, what they

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need to be successful and you know, help us win. So whatever may

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be. You know, I'm kind
of their service and just kind of going

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about it that way. Will this
year you're throwing out runners twenty percent more

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times than you were a year ago. Is that the pictures adapting to these

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new rules or what's been the dynamic
there for why you've been able to throw

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them at such a high rate.
Yeah, I think that's definitely more the

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pictures being quicker at home plate,
mixing times, really sticking ownership in it

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and caring about it. I think
the last couple of years wasn't an emphasis

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and you know we kind of put
an emphasis on it to you know,

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help us win ballgame. So just
give me a chance to throw guys out

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as important and the guys with the
middle are picking balls getting good tags on

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them. So yeah, that's why
we're controlling it is that Was that a

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point of emphasis in spring training because
last year it seemed like at times pitchers

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were not able to get you the
baseball or delivered the baseball to you in

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time. Yeah, for sure,
I think you know, really just last

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year it kind of you know,
punches in the face. How many steels

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were given up, how many extra
runs were given up? Because of that,

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you started working on last year and
then yeah, spring training and just

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continue to try to get better at
it before I let you go. Obviously,

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every offense goes through periods of time
that the Dodgers are in, but

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your offensive identity as a group has
been passing the baton. Do you guys

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have to get back to that?
Uh? Yeah, I think just right

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now it's just better at bats with
men and his corn position, making sure

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you drive him in and stuff.
But yeah, I mean that's baseball.

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There's gonna be ups and downs.
You can get hot. It's just timely

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hitting. And right now it's just
continue to put up good to bats,

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continue to fight and push run's cross. All right, Well, thanks a

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lot for the time. Did you
get as much of a high being with

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me as you did? Cedric the
entertainer at your charity event a couple of

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weeks ago. No, not the
same, huh no, sorry, all

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right, well I'll take it.
We'll leave it right there. Happy Memorial

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Day and thanks to Will Smith for
his time