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Dodgers star issues apology to Jurickson Profar after getting owned for trash talk

Will Smith is clearly feeling a fair bit of regret for his part in waking Profar up this season, and we absolutely love it.
Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Friars On Base

San Diego Padres v Los Angeles Dodgers / Harry How/GettyImages

One of the more hilarious developments with the San Diego Padres this season has been the play of All-Star Jurickson Profar. Not only has Profar been one of the better hitters in baseball in 2024 after signing a one-year deal to little fanfare at the time, but he also began his ascension right after the Dodgers' Will Smith made the unwise decision to call him "irrelevant" after an altercation early in the season.

Profar has been making Smith eat those words ever since. In 97 games this season despite having to deal with lingering soreness in his knee, Profar has slashed .305/.394/.476 and made his first All-Star Game 12 years after making his big league debut. Sometimes, baseball is amazing and just.

Based on Smith's comments at the All-Star festivities this year, it sounds like he may be regretting his role in waking Profar up in 2024. Smith issued an apology to Profar for calling him irrelevant, albeit a half-hearted one.

Dodgers' Will Smith forced to apologize to Jurickson Profar after getting outplayed by him in 2024

How things turned out in the wake of Smith's comments about Profar is almost too perfect. While Smith's WAR is higher than Profar's due to defensive adjustments, Profar has Smith beat in wRC+, OPS, and batting average. Heck, Profar even edged Smith in the All-Star Game as he is starting the game while Smith is only a reserve, with the Brewers' William Contreras getting the start at catcher.

The whole situation was set up to create some really awkward moments in that National League dugout during the All-Star Game and it would be amazing if MLB had either player mic'd up to see if any words were exchanged (we would also just settle for a generic dugout mic). Both Smith and Profar are guys that are very prideful, and it would be top notch viewing to see if this saga played out any further.

Perhaps that is why Smith was proactive in getting an apology out there now, because there is a real chance that Profar still harbors some ill-will towards the Dodgers catcher. However, if this season is any indication, Profar will just continue to let his play do the talking while Smith explains his idiotic comments.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.