Mookie Betts was not in the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup for the Tokyo Series due to a prolonged battle with a stomach virus, but he returned relatively quickly even if the experience left him physically diminished.
The illness had already taken effect before the Dodgers departed Arizona for Tokyo, and stayed present in Betts’ system over the course of multiple weeks.
The biggest obstacle Betts faced was an inability to keep food down, which deprived him of the nutrition professional athletes require. He lost more than 20 pounds over the course of the battle with the stomach trouble, which put his availability for the home opener at Dodger Stadium in serious jeopardy.
Betts’ outlook improved drastically with the help of some new medication and a little bit of time. The result was he was back in the lineup Dodgers faced the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium on March 27.
The weight loss wasn’t an issue for Betts much longer, thanks in part to a secret weapon he divulged during an episode of the “On Base With Mookie Betts” podcast:
“I’m not going to say I’m on base, but I’m on base with Uncrustables. I really do. That helped me get my weight back when I was sick.”
After some initial concern from the fanbase that the Dodgers were pushing Betts into action too soon, he proved that all was well with a historic performance in the second game of the second game of the series against the Tigers.
Debates over the popularity of Uncrustables — peanut butter and jelly sandwiches — as a snack for MLB players sparked this week when Philadelphia Phillies’ Nick Castellanos was captured on camera eating one in the dugout.
While Betts threw his support behind them, Teoscar Hernández, who was the guest on the podcast episode, said he was not overly familiar with Uncrustables.
Mookie Betts back to 100% healthy
Betts has had no further issues with the troublesome stomach bug, and fully recovered from the adverse effects.
“Yeah, yeah. I actually weigh more than when I came into spring. So I’m definitely good,” Betts recently said.
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