Mookie Betts entered the 2025 season as the Los Angeles Dodgers’ starting shortstop after getting his first extended opportunity at the position last year.
Betts began his Major League career in the outfield, but he was drafted as an infielder and spent a lot of his initial development playing on the dirt. That has always translated to a desire to play shortstop or the infield at the MLB level, and Betts is now living out that dream.
During an appearance on “Dodger Talk” with David Vassegh, Betts said moving back to shortstop this year has revitalized him:
“I think I’m doing OK. I’ve had a couple errors early, and it’s hard to say that’s part of the game, when I work so hard and whatnot, because I’m not really accepting of that’s part of the game. But at the end of the day it is, so I need to be accepting of failures that happen.
“I genuinely love coming to work. Coming to work and going to work at short, it’s actual fun for me. Like how People go play golf, that’s how I feel coming to practice at shortstop. I’m not saying a new light, but different energy for me. I’ve truly loved it. It’s been fun.
“It’s hard. It’s really hard, but it’s fun. I’m catching myself in games asking Tommy and Munce, ‘What do I do here?’ Because some of these situations I’ve never been in. So just being in them, I have to talk through it as you go, because there’s so many different things that go on. It’s been fun. I know I have a lot more experience to go, but it’s been fun so far.”
Keeping Betts happy seemed to be a goal for the Dodgers as they set out on building their roster this past offseason as they passed on numerous middle infield options. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has also previously said that Betts has increased focus when he’s playing the infield.
Unlike last year when Betts was moved to shortstop late in Spring Training, he had a full offseason of workouts to help him prepare for the position change.
“Getting the work definitely helps and getting to go mess up and whatnot,” Betts recently said. “That definitely helps. We’ll see how it goes.”
Through his first 20 starts at shortstop this season, Betts owns a .966 fielding percentage and has made only two errors. He has additionally graded out positively in several other defensive metrics.
Mookie Betts credits Tommy Edman
Tommy Edman has been Betts’ double play partner for most of the season, and the eight-time All-Star credited him for making his transition back to shortstop easy.
In addition to Edman, Betts has received insight from Miguel Rojas on the intricacies of playing shortstop.
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