Dominic Smith can't wait to meet Little Leaguers

WASHINGTON – At 28 years old, Dominic Smith's Little League days are not far from his memory. The Nationals first baseman considers those years instrumental in his journey to the Major Leagues, and he is looking forward to sharing those experiences as the Nats' ambassador at the 2023 Little League Classic.

“They feel like yesterday,” Smith said with a smile.

The Nationals and Phillies are playing in the Little League Classic at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday at Historic Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pa. Smith also participated in 2018 with the Mets.

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Prior to the game, Smith and members of both teams will spend the afternoon with hundreds of youth from around the globe who advanced to the Little League World Series. He will be joined by right-hander Michael Lorenzen as the Phillies' ambassador for the LLC.

“I’m definitely honored. It’s something that I’m excited to be a part of and represent this community,” Smith said. “The Nationals do a great job of being very active in the community, and we have a lot of great programs. The fact that they chose me out of this big group, I’m excited. I’m excited to go back to the Little League Classic for a second time and experience what I experienced last time – which was tremendous fun and great competition. The kids have great personalities, so I can’t wait to meet these worthy opponents who made it this year.”

Before Smith became a first-round Draft pick by the Mets in 2013 and made his big league debut in ‘17, he was a participant in several MLB baseball and softball development programs. These included the MLB Youth Academy in Compton, Calif.; the Nike RBI/Nike RBI World Series; and the Breakthrough Series. He remembers the impact speaking with Major Leaguers at those events had on him, and he wants to share the same with this year’s group of aspiring athletes.

Being an ambassador is "definitely something that I like to take advantage of because you don’t know what that would mean to a kid’s life,” he said. “I went to a youth academy out in Compton, and I remember when Clayton Kershaw came up there and Matt Kemp and Mike Scioscia and all these guys who spent a couple hours with us. From then, it just made me more eager to want to be in their shoes and get to the big leagues.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to learn from these kids, how they think, what they like, their interests, their hobbies and show them my interests and hobbies, as well. I think they’ll start to understand that I’m kind of similar to them, in a way. It’s a great opportunity to showcase us as people, as human beings and then as big leaguers, too.”

The teams in the LLWS punched their tickets from near and far of Williamsport, similar to how Smith traveled thousands of miles with MLB programs as a kid.

“I come from a small, inner city,” Smith said. “Actually, without a majority of these programs, I wouldn’t have been able to travel across the world and meet and experience these different things. The RBI Classic, that’s one program that took us from Compton and took us over to Miami and put us up in a hotel. We played in the old Marlins Park, before they had the dome.

“To experience that with teams from across the world – I think there was a team from the Dominican Republic – and teams from all over the States, as well, that just opened my eyes and showed me that there’s more to life than just South Central L.A. So I think that experience made me want to be a better person and be successful. Those memories that I’ve had, I still have friends from those days and we’re best friends to this day. Those experiences are something that you remember forever.”

Smith and Lorenzen will begin their ambassador roles Sunday when they arrive at the airport and take over MLB’s social channels, featuring a Q&A and interview by a Little Leaguer. Smith and Lorenzen also will be mic’d up at the Little League complex, where they will play games – Wiffle ball, corn hole, ping pong and video games are among the options – at “The Grove.” Smith also has a to-do list from his first trip there.

“I don’t think we slid down [Lamade Hill] last time because I think the weather was too bad,” Smith said. “I definitely, definitely have to slide down the hill.”

Just as the LLWS players are looking forward to meeting the Nationals and Phillies and watching them take the field, Smith is just as excited to be part of their special day.

“We can bring up memories from Little League, from travel ball, RBI Series, even stuff at the youth academy that helped prepare us for this moment,” Smith said. “You don’t forget those things, and those are relationships that you have that are life-lasting. That’s why I think this weekend’s going to be fun because no matter what those teams go through, they’re going to remember this forever, they’re going to remember what they experienced with us and even amongst themselves.”