The 2020s have marked a golden era of Dodgers baseball with a chance to three-peat this season, record-breaking attendance and sponsorships, and a roster that has continued to get better after every World Series ***** le won.
But LA has learned a lot about their organization in that time, and becoming the model franchise in baseball didn’t start with signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2023. This has been a process that dates back for more than a decade, and the Dodgers have identified personnel across their operation that have contributed so much behind the scenes in order to become the dynasty they are today.
One of those people is Dodgers Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Travis Smith.
If you don’t know Smith by name, odds are you’ve seen him in the Dodgers dugout after a big home run or on social media displaying a level of energy that shows what makes the sport so special. After Roki Sasaki’s Friday start vs the Angels, he immediately found Smith and spent some time going over what worked in his 10-strikeout performance.
The next day, I sat with Smith in that same dugout to learn a couple of things: What did his journey look like that landed him with the Dodgers? What has he seen from Roki Sasaki that has led to this recent success? And so much more.
Smith is a few months into his 14th season on the Dodgers staff. He has experience working on multiple teams at all levels, starting off in Double-A, then Triple-A, then getting promotions to be both Major League ***** istant and Minor League coordinator and. Now, he’s been operating as LA’s head strength and conditioning coach.
“Being a young, Black male from the city of Chicago,” Smith explained, “being able to be here on a center stage like this is important for me and for other people to be able to see that you’re able to make it.”
Coming from a heavy football background, Smith understands the discipline and competitive nature that different athletes carry. He played college football for four years at Taylor University and acknowledged it allows him to resonate with the grind that comes with a full season for all the players.
He also had to make some big adjustments once he pivoted from a football player to a baseball trainer.
“I didn’t really play baseball growing up,” Travis said. “Being able to turn on the switch, really just understanding how to train the body and the physiology allowed me to be in the room and once I got here, the players were very open to teaching me the game.
“Understand what these guys go through on a daily basis. Injuries, how to come back from that and put you in a sense of being understanding of this person.”
When the opportunity to work for the Dodgers came across Smith, he had to put other career opportunities on hold.
After working in multiple internship programs at the Minor League level, he landed his first full-time position with LA’s Double-A affiliate after working with the Miami Marlins Triple-A team the year befor
But LA has learned a lot about their organization in that time, and becoming the model franchise in baseball didn’t start with signing Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in 2023. This has been a process that dates back for more than a decade, and the Dodgers have identified personnel across their operation that have contributed so much behind the scenes in order to become the dynasty they are today.
One of those people is Dodgers Head Strength & Conditioning Coach Travis Smith.
If you don’t know Smith by name, odds are you’ve seen him in the Dodgers dugout after a big home run or on social media displaying a level of energy that shows what makes the sport so special. After Roki Sasaki’s Friday start vs the Angels, he immediately found Smith and spent some time going over what worked in his 10-strikeout performance.
The next day, I sat with Smith in that same dugout to learn a couple of things: What did his journey look like that landed him with the Dodgers? What has he seen from Roki Sasaki that has led to this recent success? And so much more.
Smith is a few months into his 14th season on the Dodgers staff. He has experience working on multiple teams at all levels, starting off in Double-A, then Triple-A, then getting promotions to be both Major League ***** istant and Minor League coordinator and. Now, he’s been operating as LA’s head strength and conditioning coach.
“Being a young, Black male from the city of Chicago,” Smith explained, “being able to be here on a center stage like this is important for me and for other people to be able to see that you’re able to make it.”
Coming from a heavy football background, Smith understands the discipline and competitive nature that different athletes carry. He played college football for four years at Taylor University and acknowledged it allows him to resonate with the grind that comes with a full season for all the players.
He also had to make some big adjustments once he pivoted from a football player to a baseball trainer.
“I didn’t really play baseball growing up,” Travis said. “Being able to turn on the switch, really just understanding how to train the body and the physiology allowed me to be in the room and once I got here, the players were very open to teaching me the game.
“Understand what these guys go through on a daily basis. Injuries, how to come back from that and put you in a sense of being understanding of this person.”
When the opportunity to work for the Dodgers came across Smith, he had to put other career opportunities on hold.
After working in multiple internship programs at the Minor League level, he landed his first full-time position with LA’s Double-A affiliate after working with the Miami Marlins Triple-A team the year befor
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