The Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres have developed something of a budding rivalry over recent years amid competitive matchups in the National League West and postseason meetings.
Mookie Betts has been at the center of that since 2020, when the Dodgers swept the Padres in the NL Division Series en route to winning the World Series. It was the first time the Dodgers and Padres played in the postseason.
They repeated that in 2022, when the Padres stunned the heavily-favored Dodgers in the NLDS. The two teams then went toe-to-toe for the division title that was captured by the Dodgers for an 11th time in the past 12 years.
Several hours before the Dodgers defeated the Padres to clinch the NL West, Betts recorded a podcast episode with Fernando Tatis Jr.
That caused a stir online, but the Dodgers All-Star defended the decision to have Tatis as a guest on his “On Base with Mookie Betts” podcast, via Bleacher Report Walk-Off:
“A lot of people in the chat and I’m sure in the comments and whatnot, they’re saying it’s funny and kind of crazy that we’re doing a podcast right now, in the midst of the race. And so my take on it, and I’ll let you talk, but my take on it is, during the game we’ll be fighting to win the game. That’s a given. That’s between the lines.
“But I think I may have said it before, the brotherhood that’s created playing this game, is what you’ll always remember. When we get older, we’re going to always remember Tatis as a great player, right? But I’m going to remember who you were. The person that you are, how you treated me, our relationship, more than the baseball stuff.
“So for me, right now, we’re living a normal life. This is normal. Now, when the game starts, we’re fighting, right?”
Tatis then echoed much of Betts’ sentiment about matters off the field being separated from competition:
“I definitely appreciate this. Like you mentioned, where are we going to take this? We’re going to remember the home runs and the hits, and all that is pretty. But the people that you meet on the way, that are from so many different backgrounds but at the same time also so similar. Very similar. Sharing stories and having that respect for that guy, that you know how much hard work you need to do to be in the place that you are at, and being around people with that same amount of workload, same amount of dedication and passion for the game, it’s probably the best thing.”
At the time of recording the podcast episode, Betts was mired in an 0-for-8 skid through the first two games of the series against the Padres. He had a particularly forgetful performance on Wednesday night that comprised of going 0-for-4 with a pop-out to each infield position.
Betts bounced back in the Dodgers’ win on Thursday, driving in a pair of runs on a base hit as part of a five-run seventh inning.
Mookie Betts visited ‘Dodgers Fire Station’
Betts recently visited iconic Fire Station 20 on Sunset Blvd., along with teammates Blake Treinen, Walker Buehler and Will Smith, to help the Dodgers surprise local first responders.
The historic firehouse is located one mile from Dodger Stadium and is affectionately known as “Dodgers Fire Station.”
Betts, Buehler, Smith and Treinen received a tour of the firehouse for an inside look at daily duties. The players also got to compete against each other in who could get suited up quickest, and they were treated to a ride-along.
“It was awesome getting to see behind the scenes. It was my first time being at a fire station. It was really cool,” Betts said.
“They protect the city, so it’s good for us to recognize them. I appreciate everything that they do. Wearing those clothes, I didn’t realize how heavy it is. They said it’s like 70, 80 pounds sometimes. Kudos to them.”
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