Designated hitter Dominic Smith started off with a bang in his debut with the Atlanta Braves. In the bottom of the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday, Smith hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Braves the 6-2 win and send Atlanta’s Truist Park into a frenzy.
But the grand slam also came with an added weight: Postgame, Smith revealed that the magical moment came just weeks after the death of his mother, Yvette LaFleur, who died on March 15 after a battle with cancer. The hitter said that he felt his mother’s presence in the walk-off win.
“I got choked up a bunch of times and I’m trying to hold back tears right now. It’s just so special,” Smith said, via MLB.com. “I feel her every day. I miss her dearly. There’s not a moment where I don’t think about her.”
Atlanta is Smith’s sixth team in four seasons, with the veteran signing a one-year split contract with the team earlier this month. After Saturday’s win, Smith praised the team for their support over the past several weeks, as he had to leave preseason training camp for a little over a week to tend to his mother.
“This team is just so awesome. I’m so blessed because of the love they showed me. Every day I’d come in they’re asking about her, asking about her well-being, my well-being. That’s all they really cared about. They didn’t care about baseball,” Smith said, via Gabe Burns of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Just them showing me that love — I know she’d want me to be here. That’s why I stuck it out.”
Smith was showered with love — or, more specifically, with water, bubblegum and hugs — from his teammates after crossing home plate.
(Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves/Getty Images)
(Kevin D. Liles/Atlanta Braves via Getty Images)
Smith, who signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in February, came into the designated hitter role in an unusual way. In early March, Braves DH Jurickson Profar was hit with a season-long suspension after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs for the second time in the past year — leaving a hole in Atlanta’s lineup.
Just over two weeks later — six days after the death of his mother — Smith signed the split contract with the Braves, and eventually won a spot in Atlanta’s batting rotation. Saturday was his first game with the team, with Drake Baldwin starting as DH in Kansas City’s opening day roster.
“They preach a family environment here,” Smith said, via MLB.com. “That’s what I feel from the group and the coaching staff. I’m just so thankful for the opportunity to suit up for the Braves.”
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