After a heartbreaking loss to the Washington Nationals in the 2019 National League Division Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers entered the offseason looking to add another elite-caliber player to the roster.
The club ultimately completed a blockbuster trade with the Boston Red Sox to acquire Mookie Betts and David Price just before the start of Spring Training.
While Price opted out due to coronavirus (COVID-19) concerns, Betts went on to exceed lofty expectations in his first season with the Dodgers. He finished second in NL MVP voting but more importantly helped the club win the World Series for the first time since 1988.
Earlier this year Clayton Kershaw praised Betts for his ability to do everything on the diamond and referred to him as the best player in all of baseball, per Jorge Castillo of the L.A. Times:
“We were good. We’ve always been good. But Mookie, Mookie makes a difference, man. Mookie is like . . . you hear people say it all the time, ‘Oh, all the little stuff is great.’ No, it’s not true. Mookie’s skilled. Mookie’s really good at hitting and really good at fielding and really good at throwing. He’s the best in the game at all that stuff combined. But then you add on top of that, like, he scored two runs from third base [in the postseason] that not many people score. And he makes plays defensively that not many people make. And then his hitting, his on-base, he doesn’t strike out, all that stuff. All that encompassing is what makes him. Obviously, it starts with his talent but all that other stuff separates him.”
Betts finished the 2020 season batting .292/.366/.562 with nine doubles, 16 home runs and 39 RBI during. The production earned Betts a fourth career Silver Slugger Award, and he additionally was strong on the field, winning a fifth consecutive Gold Glove and Fielding Bible Award.
Betts continued to contribute in the postseason, memorably making a trio of impressive catches during the National League Championship Series. He additionally wreaked havoc on the basepaths and delivered a knockout punch in the World Series with a home run in Game 6.
“It just means everything,” he said after the Dodgers won the championship. “I was traded for to help get us over the hump. I used that as my fuel. Since Day 1 that’s obviously been the goal, so I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
Betts pushed through injury in 2021
As impressive as Betts’ first season in L.A. was, he fell short of matching that in 2021. Though, it became known that in large part was likely due to playing through a right hip injury that twice required a cortisone injection.
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