Mookie Betts has been an absolute force for the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first month and a half of the season, and he was recognized for his efforts by being named National League Player of the Month for March and April.
It is the second time Betts has won NL Player of the Month after winning it in August 2023, and the first time a Dodgers’ player has won it since then.
Betts is also taking home a monthly honor the third time in his career, with his other coming in 2016 as an American League Player of the Month award with the Boston Red Sox.
It was a well deserved honor for Betts, who put up ridiculous numbers in March and April as he hit .377/.624/.477 with six homers, 23 RBI, 26 walks, 29 runs scored, and eight stolen bases in 32 games to begin the 2024 season.
Those numbers were good enough to led the Majors in batting average, on-base-percentage, on-base plus slugging, hits, walks and runs scored, and he ranked second in slugging, extra-base hits, and total bases.
As good as Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith, and Freddie Freeman have been for the Dodgers, Betts has been the catalyst as he has reached safely in 31 of his 33 games this season, the most of any player in the Majors.
This month also came with a major career milestone for Betts as he collected his 1,500th career hit on a solo home run on April 2nd against the San Francisco Giants. He is currently one of 20 active players to join the 1,500 hit club and is the only current Dodger.
The Dodgers as a team have had an up and down beginning to the year, but finished April strong with a 7-2 record during their nine game road trip to enter May still in first place in the NL West division with a 19-13 record and that is in no small part to Betts.
Mookie Betts putting up historic numbers with the Dodgers
There was a reason the Dodgers were so excited that they had the opportunity to trade for Betts prior to the 2020 season. After the trade, they signed him to a 12-year $365 million contract extension a little over four months after he was acquired.
Betts has proven to be a beneficial addition as he has put up record setting numbers for a player 500 games into their Dodgers career.
His 412 runs scored, 256 extra-base hits and 1,069 total bases are the most in a player’s first 500 games with the Dodgers since at least 1901, and in the process has surpassed Dodgers greats like Jackie Robinson, Johnny Frederick, and Mike Piazza.
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