Mookie Betts missed the first two games of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ season with a severe stomach virus that affected him for multiple weeks and left him 20 pounds underweight when all was said and done.
Miraculously, the Tokyo Series were the only two games Betts ended up missing. He was back in the lineup for the Dodgers’ home opener and even delivered a two-home run performance in just his second game back in action, one of which sealed the team’s walk off-win.
Even though Betts’ illness is well behind him and he has been back at a healthy weight for quite some time, he is still feeling aftereffects, according to Jack Harris of the L.A. Times:
“I didn’t realize how coming back so much underweight would affect me even now,” Betts said. “Trying to do that 20 pounds lighter, I just created some really, really, really bad habits, man.”
With hitting a baseball being one of the hardest things to do in sports, maintaining consistent mechanics is crucial for success. It’s why players expend so much effort in order to maintain their swing year-round once they find one that works for them.
Betts pushing himself to return to the active roster while still being diminished physically unfortunately created some issues with his swing that initially weren’t apparent:
“At first, it was cool. When I first came back, I hit a couple homers. The habits didn’t creep all the way in,” Betts said. “But then they started creeping in. And that’s what you’ve seen here recently. The product of some really bad habits from being so light.”
In his last 30 games, Betts is hitting .254/.336/.377 with three doubles, one triple and three home runs. His plate discipline and vision haven’t been an issue, as Betts has 15 walks to 12 strikeouts over that time.
In his last 15 games, Betts is batting .322/.354/.475, but in the last seven is hitting .268/.310/.385 with just one extra-base hit — a home run.
Overall this season, Betts has a .267 batting average to go along with a .772 on-base plus slugging percentage, .341 wOBA and 119 wRC+.
Betts has shown signs of progress, reaching base safely in seven of his past 10 games. Going forward, the focus will be on finding and maintaining some level of consistency
Mookie Betts gained back weight with Uncrustables
Keeping food down largely contributed to Betts’ weight loss, but his outlook improved drastically with the help of some new medication and a little bit of time. The result was he was back in the lineup Dodgers faced the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium on March 27.
The weight loss wasn’t an issue for Betts much longer, thanks in part to a secret weapon: Uncrustables.
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