The 2025 MLB Awards took place in Las Vegas on Thursday night, which saw Mookie Betts co-host the show alongside comedian, Emmy-nominated producer and baseball fanatic Roy Wood Jr.
It was a notable change for Betts, who usually receives awards rather than present them. However, much like his seamless transition from the outfield to shortstop this year, he looked like a natural on the stage.
That’s not to say Betts didn’t deal with some nerves, however, which he detailed during an appearance on “MLB Tonight” with Greg Amsinger and Harold Reynolds:
“Everybody said I did pretty good. I was a little nervous, and as I kept going I got a little more comfortable. It was really a lot of fun, man. It was something I never would’ve dreamed of doing, especially when I was in Boston. Now I come out to L.A., I’m just enjoying and embracing the L.A. life.”
Betts added the most difficult part he had was being natural with the lines and not coming across as simply reading off the teleprompter:
“Reading. It sounds weird, but reading the script, it’s really hard. It’s hard to read the script and be in the moment. I practiced a lot in the bed, just reading my script and going over, having an idea so I could do a lot of talking instead of reading. I wasn’t the kid they chose to read a page in class. I was always the one that called it on everybody else to do it.”
Betts co-hosting the 2025 MLB Awards show came less than two weeks after the Los Angeles Dodgers rallied to defeat the Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series. They needed to stave off elimination in Game 6 and then take a winner-take-all Game 7.
Betts turned an unassisted game-ending double play to help L.A. repeat as World Series champions and win his fourth ring as a player.
While Betts didn’t take home any hardware at this year’s MLB Awards show, he continued to show that he could have a future in the entertainment industry when his baseball career is over. This year also saw Betts repeat his podcast hosting duties through a partnership with Bleacher Report.
Mookie Betts puts flare on MLB Awards
Similar to last year’s awards show, Betts again had the Dodgers’ World Series trophy with him. He handed it off to teammate Will Smith and also was who presented the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter Award to Shohei Ohtani, who accepted the honor remotely.
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