The Los Angeles Dodgers are visiting the White House on Thursday during an off day amid their six-game East Coast road trip, but will be without Mookie Betts and Kiké Hernández.
The Dodgers anticipated all players would visit the White House for their World Series celebration, but Betts announced his absence in favor of prioritizing spending time with his family. Meanwhile, Hernández is in the midst of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City.
Although Betts has chosen to prioritize his family, the 33-year-old offered an apology to angering those who may take offense to his decision, according to Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group.
“I apologize. To the people that it’s going to piss off,” he said. “Because it’s going to piss somebody off.”
The Dodgers are making a pitstop in the nation’s capital after wrapping up their three-game series in Philadelphia and then are headed to New York City for a three-game set with the Mets.
This is the second year in a row that the Dodgers faced criticism from some fans for accepting the White House invitation given the political climate under the current administration.
Betts initially was reluctant to commit to visiting the White House last year and spoke with his family before ultimately deciding to attend in order to avoid becoming a distraction. That differed from 2019, when Betts declined to go with the Boston Red Sox for their White House visit during President Trump’s first term.
Dodgers’ stance on White House visit
The Dodgers are maintaining the same stance they took in 2025 after announcing they planned on going to the White House. Teams have visited the White House since President Andrew Johnson welcomed two amateur baseball clubs in 1865. The 1924 Washington Senators were MLB’s first World Series champion to participate.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has been vocal in his agreement with that viewpoint.
“This took a long time to get both sides together, and honestly, like I’ve always said, my company line, my personal line is: I hope that we get this invitation every year, because that’s the goal – to win a championship, to get this invitation to the White House,” Roberts said earlier this month.
“I’m not a politician, and I’m doing something that teams have done for decades. So that’s where I stand, really. I’m a baseball coach. That’s what I do.”
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