Mookie Betts proved his worth in superstar fashion during the 2023 season, putting up one of the best performances out of the leadoff spot in both Los Angeles Dodgers and Major League Baseball history.
Betts overcame a slow start to the season and finished batting .307/.408/.579 slash with 40 doubles, one triple, 39 home runs, 107 RBI, 126 runs scored, a .416 wOBA and 167 wRC+ over 152 games played.
The 2018 American League MVP winner made a strong case for his second time winning the award, finishing the season with a combined 8.3 fWAR, tying Atlanta Braves All-Star Ronald Acuña Jr., for first in the National League.
Betts ranked top three in the NL in wRC+, OPS+, doubles, slugging percentage, on-base plus slugging (.987) and extra-base hits (80). Betts’ 338 total bases are second-most in his career, trailing the 359 he had in 2016 while a member of the Boston Red Sox.
His 39 home runs topped his prior career high of 35, which was set just a season ago. In 471 regular season games with the Dodgers, Betts has slugged 113 home runs, transforming himself into a power threat at the top of their lineup.
Betts’ 126 runs scored in 2023 rank third in his career, recreating some of his best run scoring days with the Red Sox.
Mookie Betts records
Most RBI as leadoff hitter
Betts broke the MLB record for most RBI out of the leadoff spot in a single season with 106. He topped the previous record of 103 RBI, set by Colorado Rockies’ Charlie Blackmon. Betts redefined his approach at the plate, requiring fewer games to break the MLB record for most RBI from the leadoff spot.
He joined an elite group, becoming just the fourth leadoff man to have at least 100 RBI in a single season.
Dodgers leadoff home run record
Betts stepped up his long ball numbers, but when kick-starting the offense, he did it better in 2023. After totaling seven homers to start a game in both 2021 and 2022, he set the Dodgers single-season record with 12 leadoff home runs this year.
In doing so, Betts passed Ichiro Suzuki, Blackmon, Brady Anderson, Jimmy Rollins and Curtis Granderson on the all-time list. Betts remains in a tie for fifth all-time with Ian Kinsler.
Betts records history month of August
Betts became the third player in league history since 1900 to post a minimum .450 batting average, with 50 hits and 10 homers during a single calendar month. He joined Babe Ruth (July 1923, 1924) and Lou Gehrig (June 1930).
He hit .455/.516/.839 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs, 30 RBI, a .562 wOBA and 265 wRC+ in August, appearing in all but one of the Dodgers’ 29 games. With Betts’ record month, he not only was named NL Player of the Month, but set a Dodgers franchise record with 35 runs scored and racking up 51 total hits.
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