Mookie Betts talks about the advice that David Ortiz has given him that he wants to pay forward ⚾️
(🎥: @sportsnetla @THEREAL_DV)
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Mookie Betts had the best season of his career with the Boston Red Sox in 2018. Betts had a 30-30 season, slashing .346/.438/.640 with an OPS of 1.078 that was capped with a Gold Glove, Silver Slugger, MLB batting title, MVP, and a World Series ring.
Eight years later, Betts has tallied five more silver sluggers, three additional gold gloves, and three other World Series rings. Unfortunately for the city of Boston, only two of those accolades can be attributed back to Boston, and none of those are World Series titles.
In 2020, Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers along with David Price for outfielder Alex Verdugo and two prospects.
After a slow start to his 12th MLB season, Betts points out a relationship from the Red Sox organization that still remains close to him.
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In a recent interview with AM 570 LA Sports Radio, Mookie Betts opens about his relationship with Boston Red Sox legend David ‘Big Papi’ Ortiz.
Betts played with Ortiz for three seasons before the three-time World Series champion retired in 2016. Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts also played with Big Papi, sharing the 2004 World Series win with him.
“You know, really just to trust myself, believe in yourself,” Betts said on the advice that Ortiz has given him over the years. “And good positive self talk. He never talked to himself negatively, and things haven’t been going to great for me here recently. So I have to figure out how to [get] myself to talk better. That’s one thing [Ortiz] preached.”
Mookie Betts talks about the advice that David Ortiz has given him that he wants to pay forward ⚾️
(🎥: @sportsnetla @THEREAL_DV)
Ortiz offered Betts a vital veteran mentorship through his first three professional seasons. The pair even led Boston to an AL East championship in Ortiz’s final season in 2016.
Now that Ortiz works as a studio analyst for MLB on Fox, him and Betts regularly meet in the postseason, due to the Los Angeles Dodgers overwhelming success the last few seasons.
Last October, Ortiz offered Betts advice on air during the NLDS against the Philadelphia Phillies.
After returning from an oblique injury in early April, Betts is turning toward his former teammate and mentor for help.
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Mookie Betts has played in 22 out of the 56 games this season due to missing six weeks following an oblique injury. The shortstop’s injury came at a time where he finally started heating up. Betts recorded his first multi-hit game of the season.
Before hitting the IL, Betts batting average was .179 with only two home runs in eight games. Now that Betts has been back since May 11, he has nearly doubled the amount of games he played, yet is still sitting at a batting average of .182, only three points higher than before the IL.
On May 26, however, Betts batted cleanup for the first time since 2017 as a Boston Red Sox, tallying three home runs and five RBIs.
Mookie Betts, batting .165 with a .572 OPS, is dropped to the cleanup spot tonight. Last time he batted cleanup: Sept. 29, 2017 for the Red Sox, behind Xander Bogaerts, Dustin Pedroia and Andrew Benintendi.
After his much needed night at the plate, Betts tied an MLB record for most three-homer games in a career.
McKenna Van Gundy McKenna Van Gundy is a sports journalist covering the NFL for Heavy.com. She spent two years as a sports contributor for her University's newspaper, covering games and writing feature stories on players and coaches. She currently works for the NFL as a digital programming associate and lives in the greater Los Angeles area. More about McKenna Van Gundy
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