Mookie Betts received his 2023 Silver Slugger Award prior to Friday night’s game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers, and then quickly added onto what’s been a torrid start at the plate this season.
Betts turned on the third pitch he saw from Cardinals starter Zack Thompson for a leadoff home run that gave the Dodgers an early lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The leadoff home run was Betts’ 49th of his career, which broke a tie with Ian Kinsler to take sole possession of fifth place in MLB history. Rickey Henderson holds the MLB record with 81 leadoff home runs, followed by George Springer’s 57, Alfonso Soriano with 54, Craig Biggio at 53, and then Betts.
Of those, Betts has hit 29 leadoff home runs since being traded to the Dodgers. That set a new Dodgers franchise record for most leadoff home runs, breaking a tie with Davey Lopes.
Mookie Betts status: Still on fire.
(🎥: @Dodgers) pic.twitter.com/1Etd44TMmv
— Dodger Blue (@DodgerBlue1958) March 30, 2024
Betts’ first homer of the season came in the second game of the Seoul Series, but was not a leadoff blast. It nevertheless won him the IONIQ 5 electric car as part of MLB’s sponsorship with Hyundai, because that represented the first home run of the 2024 season.
The 31-year-old then broke out his power swing again in the Dodger Stadium opener before connecting on his second long ball in as many games against the Cardinals.
“It’s so interesting. There’s just no exact science to it. Early on in camp, he was the most unlocked player and trying to find his swing,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said before Friday’s game.
“Freddie (Freeman) was the same way, and now you see them and they’re both swinging the bat really well. They’re really good players and you just hope that it syncs up sooner than later and those hot spurts last longer than they don’t. But given the travel and what we’ve done, to see the consistent performance has been very helpful.”
Mookie Betts leadoff home runs record
In 2023, Betts set a new Dodgers record for most leadoff home runs in a single season with 12. The mark previously belonged to Joc Pederson, who hit nine leadoff homers in 2019.
Moreover, Betts finished the 2023 season with 107 RBI, which set an MLB record for most out of the leadoff spot in one year.
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