Crush a slider?

In the top of the 11th inning in game 7 of the 2025 World Series, Will Smith crushed a home run against Shane Bieber. It was slider. That home run is the game-winning home run and the Dodgers won the Fall Classic.

 

While watching the highlights of the World Series, I just thought about several questions.

 

Firstly, did many hitters crush home runs against Bieber’s slider? To solve my doubt, I decided to check on the statcast website.

 

Shane Bieber made his MLB debut in 2018. So far in his career, he gave up 102 home runs. Among those 102 home runs, 51 were coming from his four-seam fastball. At the same time, 20 home runs were crushed from his slider and 14 pitches were crushed from his knuckle curve. So, it’s not so common to see a hitter smash a home run against Bieber’s slider. It only happened 20 times in 8 seasons. But, how about the last time that Bieber gave up a home run via his slider during the regular season?

 

After checking on the statcast website, it was in early September. Carlos Correa crushed a home run against Bieber’s slider on September 9th. In the 2025 season, Bieber threw 40.1 innings and gave up 8 home runs. 2 home runs were coming from his slider.

 

In the meantime, let’s look at the hitter’s side. Will Smith made his MLB debut in 2019 and has 128 home runs so far in his career. Among those 128 home runs, 50 were coming from four-seam fastballs, 22 were from sliders, and Will Smith smashed 20 home runs against sinkers (2-seam fastballs). Taking a closer look, the last time that Will Smith blasted a home run against a slider was in July. It was Will Smith’s 14th home run of the 2025 season; he went deep against David Festa’s slider. Will Smith hit 17 home runs in the 2025 season, 3 were coming from slider.

 

Finally, let’s quickly look back at each player’s postseason performance. Shane Bieber made 4 starts and 1 relief appearance this postseason, posting a 3.86 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP over 18.2 innings. Over 18.2 innings, he gave up 3 home runs. One was hit in the World Series and the other 2 were crushed in the ALCS. Meanwhile, Will Smith hit .276/.364/.414 with 2 home runs and 8 RBI. Interestingly, 2 home runs were both hit in the Fall Classic.

 

When we look at these 2 players’ performances, it’s clear that it’s hard to predict what will happen in October baseball. Will Smith missed some playing time during the regular season and he has only 17 home runs during the regular season. Shane Bieber returned to the mound in August after recovering from Tommy John surgery. In the World Series, they faced each other 4 times and Will Smith had only 1 hit. That hit has become the game-deciding factor and the Dodgers won the World Series title. Nonetheless, Bieber decided to opt in to stay in the Blue Jays rotation. A key thing is worth watching. In 2025, Bieber’s HR% is 5%, which is the highest so far in his career.