Dominic Smith has felt his mother’s presence every day since she died March 15 after a battle with cancer.
She was on his mind Saturday when the Braves designated hitter smacked a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning to give Atlanta a 6-2 win over the Royals.
“You know, I’m trying to hold back tears now,” the former Met told reporters after the game. “I feel her every day. I miss her dearly. It’s not a moment I don’t think about her. And like I said, I’m just so thankful because this team knows what I’m going through. So they really, you know, picked me up the last few weeks.”
Smith, 30, was competing for a spot on the Braves’ roster during spring training, at one point leaving camp for over a week after his mom had a “scare” before returning. He wasn’t with her in California when she passed.
He lauded the Braves for how they treated him during a trying time.
“This team is just so awesome,” Smith said. “I’m so blessed because of the love they showed me, the support every day. They’re asking about her, asking about her well-being, my well-being, and that’s all they really cared about. They didn’t care about baseball.”
Smith, a former Mets first-round pick who spent his first six MLB seasons in Flushing, earned his first start Saturday in the Braves’ second game of the season and is in the lineup again Sunday, batting eighth as the DH, as Atlanta tries to secure a season-opening sweep.
He spent the last three years playing for the Nationals, Red Sox, Reds, and Giants, and now is competing for playing time with one of the Mets’ rivals.
“It’s just amazing,” Smith said. “Played against the Braves for a long time, and being on the other side, a lot of these endings kind of hurt, so to be on the right side of it this time was so fun.”