Under normal circumstances, a star player getting hit with a 98 mph fastball in a rivalry game would be no laughing matter. It’s the kind of moment that could lead to lingering tensions in future meetings between the teams.
Mookie Betts’ eighth-inning at-bat against the Giants on Sunday seemed to be the exception to that rule. All you had to do was look at his teammates Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman to see why.
With Betts leading off the inning against Camilo Doval, the Dodgers star took a 98 mph pitch right off his butt. And almost immediately, that left leg appeared to go numb for Betts. He limped over to the on-deck circle where Turner and Freeman were there to … well … laugh at Mookie’s agony. Betts was obviously fine, so of course the star teammates all found the moment funny.
Mookie took one off the ass and Trea and Freddie were not of any help pic.twitter.com/63b0nGaGN9
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) July 24, 2022
You can almost hear them telling Mookie to just walk it off. Poor guy. That still had to hurt.
Betts, as expected, remained in the game. And the Dodgers won, 7-4, to complete the four-game sweep of the Giants. That kind of chemistry seemed to be a big reason why.