Mookie Betts hopes to continue to do historic damage in MLB on Sunday.
Betts and the Dodgers close out a three-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays, looking for the sweep. Betts had had his offensive hand in the first two games.
On Saturday, Betts recorded three hits, scored a run, and an RBI in the Dodgers’ 4-2 victory. In the opener Friday night in Toronto, Betts had two hits, scored a run and had an RBI. Now, Betts will try to up his hitting streak of seven games with at least a knock in the finale. In his last 10 games, he is hitting .475 with six doubles, six walks and seven RBI.
Betts is white hot so far this season. He leads MLB with a .391 batting average. In all, Betts has 45 hits, nine doubles, two triples, 23 RBI and six home runs thus far this season and is looking like an early lock for the NL MVP. And he has a strong case. Including all MLB hitters, Betts, 31, is first in batting average, first in on-base percentage , and third in slugging.
“I feel like we’re seeing the MVP version of Mookie Betts,” Dodgers closer Evan Phillips told the media. “And I feel like this is who he can be for us, hopefully throughout the whole year.”
The Dodgers back during spring training had asked Betts to switch from second base to shortstop. This can be very tough for some players who aren’t versatile but that’s not the case for him. Betts, who won six Gold Gloves as an outfielder, is proving to be a true reliable source for the Dodgers at the shortstop position.
Phillips added more compliments about Betts transitioning positions and the impact for the team.
“I feel like the transition to shortstop, all the extra work he’s doing each day fielding ground balls, talking to Miguel Rojas about playing the position at a major league level – to see his focus level on a day to day, I think it’s helping him in all parts of his game,” Phillips said.
With most athletes in the big leagues, it is all about the work you put in to gain the results that are needed. Betts, the former AL MVP, is one that takes a lot of pride in his development and learning everything to the utmost extent.
“I take great pride in work,” Betts said to the media. “Learning a new position is work…. It’s been tough but it’s been fun. When you have a resource like Miguel (Rojas), it makes things a little bit easier. He’s made the process tough but fun, somehow.”
Since joining the Dodgers in 2020, Betts has scored more runs than ANY player in their first 500 games with the team. With 412 runs scored it just so happens that the player he passed in the record books for the Dodgers was none other than MLBbro pioneer Jackie Robinson. Robinson, who was the first to break down the barriers in baseball for Black players, was leading the Dodgers with this stat for almost 74 years. Jackie had 388 runs in his first 500 games, Mookie had 407 through his first 495 games which is impressive.
“Especially as a leadoff hitter scoring a lot of runs is important but it also shows that I’ve had a lot of great teammates that drive me in, so that’s not just from me,” added Betts.
With such a long season to go, Betts hopes to stay consistent and help lead the Dodgers’ stacked team – with three-former MVPs at the top of the lineup – to the NLCS and then to yet another World Series.
For sure, Betts is leading the damage being done all over baseball by the Dodgers.
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