Infielder Josh Smith was added to the list of former LSU Tiger baseball players who won a World Series Championship when the Texas Rangers secured their first title in franchise history with a 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night.
Smith is a Baton Rouge native and is now the 16th former Tiger to be fitted for a championship ring. The 2023 World Series lasted just five games as the Rangers dominated on the road, finishing 11-0 in the postseason, including the game five win at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.
The 26-year-old Smith made his debut with Texas last season. Then this season, he recorded eight doubles, one triple, six home runs, 15 RBI, and 29 runs scored as the Rangers. Smith also found himself playing multiple positions as a third baseman, shortstop and left fielder.
The former 2019 second-round pick was selected by the New York Yankees and then was traded to the Rangers in 2021. Smith was rated among the top 10 of all Rangers prospects, and he made his debut at the Triple-A level in 2022, hitting .273 in 191 plate appearances for the Round Rock (Texas) Express.
Smith was the starting shortstop for LSU in 2019 after missing a majority of the 2018 season due to a stress reaction in his vertebrae. He was the starting third baseman in 2017 for the Tigers’ College World Series runner-up team and earned Freshman All-America and Freshman All-SEC honors.
In that 2019 campaign, Smith finished fourth in the conference in runs scored (72), sixth in batting average (.346), sixth in stolen bases (20), eighth in hits (89), and 10th in on-base percentage (.433).
Smith was named to the 2019 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional All-Tournament team after hitting .400 (4-for-10) with one double, one triple, one home run, three RBI, and five runs scored. He was voted to the 2019 SEC All-Tournament Team after hitting .360 (9-for-25) with two doubles, one homer, four RBI, and five runs scored.
Infielder Alvin Dark of the New York Giants in 1954 started the trend and since then, fifteen other former LSU Tigers have been a part of World Series championship teams on 21 occasions.
Following is the list of the former LSU players who became World Series champions:
MLB World Series Champions from LSU
· INF Alvin Dark, New York Giants – 1954 (player); Oakland Athletics – 1974 (manager)
· 1B Joe Bill Adcock, Milwaukee Braves – 1957
· LHP Mark Guthrie, Minnesota Twins – 1991
· LHP Eddie Yarnall, New York Yankees – 1999 and 2000
· LHP Randy Keisler, New York Yankees – 2000
· RHP Russ Springer, Arizona Diamondbacks – 2001
· RHP Curtis Leskanic, Boston Red Sox – 2004
· RHP Brian Wilson, San Francisco Giants – 2010 and 2012
· INF Mike Fontenot, San Francisco Giants – 2010
· LHP Brian Tallet, St. Louis Cardinals – 2011
· INF Ryan Theriot, St. Louis Cardinals – 2011; San Francisco Giants – 2012
· RHP Louis Coleman, Kansas City Royals – 2015
· 3B Alex Bregman, Houston Astros – 2017 and 2022
· RHP Will Harris, Houston Astros – 2017
· OF Andrew Stevenson, Washington Nationals – 2019
· INF Josh Smith, Texas Rangers – 2023