Tag: Mookie Betts

The 20 top selling MLB jerseys in 2023

Which player topped the list of MLB jersey sales in 2023?

When the calendar flips to October, it means one thing for many sports fans: playoff baseball.

Major League Baseball’s postseason is in full swing. It’s once again time for history to be written on the diamond and showcase the game’s biggest stars shining their brightest.

At the end of every regular season, the MLB releases the top-selling jerseys from that season.

Unsurprisingly, the list contains plenty of playoff contenders, a multitude of MVP candidates and simply some of the best baseball players on the planet

Check out the full list below, and grab a jersey to support your favorite player as the remaining lucky few march on towards the 2023 World Series.

Ronald Acuña Jr. incredibly made MLB history with grand slam on same day as his wedding

Ronald Acuña Jr. had the best possible Thursday.

Atlanta Braves superstar outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. set the record straight on Thursday night as to who is really the National League MVP this season.

In a big rivalry game between the Braves and red-hot Los Angeles Dodgers with NL playoff ramifications, Acuña hammered a beautiful home run into the Dodgers stands with the bases loaded to give the Braves a 5-1 lead in the top of the second inning.

The homer helped Acuña make history as he became the first-ever MLB player to hit 30 home runs and steal 60 bases in a single season.

It also happened in Los Angeles, where fellow superstar Mookie Betts had been getting NL MVP consideration for his stellar 2023 season.

While Betts is a phenomenal player, Acuña’s historic 2023 season should probably tilt a very close NL MVP race in his favor when it’s all said and done.

What makes this historic night even more incredible is that Acuña literally got married earlier in the day to his longtime girlfriend Maria Laborde.

How often do you achieve so much in your life in one single day?

All we know is that we’ll take a National League Championship with the Braves and Dodgers duking it out for the third time in four years yesterday.

Also, plenty of congrats to Acuña on what’s surely one of the happiest days of his life.

Red Sox fans gave Mookie Betts a thrilling tribute in his return to Fenway Park

Well, this was an awesome moment for Mookie Betts and Red Sox fans.

Mookie Betts is one of the most electric players in the MLB, and it’s a continued bewilderment that he got traded by the Boston Red Sox in the prime of his career.

The Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder made his grand return to Fenway Park on Friday night, the first time he had played in Boston since being traded in 2020 to L.A. in one of the most scrutinized baseball trades of all time.

Of course, the move more than worked out for Betts as he won a World Series with Los Angeles later that year. The Red Sox, however, have struggled to replace one of the game’s best players.

Although, there are still plenty of warm feelings for Betts in Boston, and Red Sox fans gave him a hero’s welcome in his first trip back to Fenway.

I mean, how can you not get emotional about this? Betts’ clearly moved reaction to the tribute just cements this as one of the coolest moments of the MLB season so far.

Even if he’s a Dodger, there is still plenty of love for Betts in the city where his professional career started.

LeBron James and family had fun at Saturday’s Dodgers game

LeBron James and two of his kids had a fun outing on Saturday when they attended a Dodgers-Marlins game.

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Saturday was LeBron James bobblehead night for the Los Angeles Dodgers when they hosted the Miami Marlins. They played a doubleheader due to the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Hilary, and they won both contests to remain red-hot.

James was at Dodger Stadium for his own bobblehead night, and he was accompanied by his sons Bronny and Bryce. Bronny James, of course, went into cardiac arrest a few weeks ago and was briefly hospitalized, and his budding basketball career is thought to be in serious jeopardy. But he was still able to have some fun on Saturday along with his brother and father.

At one point, All-Star and former American League MVP Mookie Betts hit a home run, and he saluted LeBron James after touching home plate. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar then responded with a tip of his cap.

The Dodgers are firmly in first place in the National League West, and they have a 12-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants.

Mookie Betts shared the coolest story about a fan naming his daughter after the Dodgers star

What an adorable full name, too.

Mookie Betts is one of MLB’s best and most iconic players. So it would stand to reason he’d likely be more beloved by Los Angeles Dodgers fans than others. But even Betts — who is known for his great self-awareness — probably couldn’t have predicted what happened between himself and a fan during a recent game.

The Dodgers star took to Twitter Tuesday to reveal he made a friendly wager with a fan sitting behind home plate. If Betts were to hit a home run in that appearance, the fan would make his upcoming newborn daughter’s middle name “Mookie.” Betts, of course, mashed a dinger, but it was unclear if the fan would keep their word.

They did, and Betts thought it was the neatest thing to see “Franceska Mookie Mancuso” on a birth certificate over Twitter.

Here’s the post that Betts references, which serves as proof the fan kept their word:

What a delightful story, and kudos to Betts for leaning all the way into it with kindness.

Mookie Betts was understandably in disbelief when a blown call ended the Dodgers’ rally

A game ended on THIS.

Major League umpires are almost never perfect. But when the game is on the line, you never want to see a missed call.

That’s what made Saturday’s 6-5 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals so disappointing for the Dodgers.

After going down three runs in the eighth inning, the Dodgers chipped away at the lead to have Mookie Betts at the plate with two outs in the ninth and a runner on second down a run. Betts worked the count full against Giovanny Gallegos. And with Freddie Freeman on deck, the Dodgers had to like the possible lefty-righty matchup to tie or take the lead.

Now, hitters are often told to swing if it’s close, but Betts was right to take a 3-2 pitch off the plate. The problem: Paul Emmel saw it differently.

The pitch was a few inches off the plate, but the excellent frame from Willson Contreras — who is now allowed to play catcher again — made the difference.

Still, you’d expect Emmel to make the correct call there, especially since Emmel was having a solid night. Betts and the Dodgers dugout couldn’t believe *that* was how the game ended.

Fans had plenty of thoughts on the call too.

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Mookie Betts booked an Airbnb in Milwaukee because he didn’t want to stay at a haunted hotel

Better safe than sorry.

Over the course of a 162-game season, life on the road can be a bit of a grind for baseball players. But at least they get to see new cities and stay at some of the nicest hotels.

But there is one hotel in Milwaukee that Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts has no interest in staying in again.

According to a report from the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett, Betts took the unusual step of booking an Airbnb in Milwaukee rather than staying with the rest of the team at the Pfister Hotel because the 130-year-old hotel is said to be haunted.

Betts claimed that he didn’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but he also didn’t want to be wrong and find out the hard way.

And to be fair to Betts, he has stayed at the hotel before. He added that he couldn’t sleep well there, so he opted for an alternative stay elsewhere.

In a way, it makes sense. If Betts can’t get a good night’s sleep there, then he should stay somewhere that won’t negatively impact his performance come game time.

Fans still had jokes about the haunted hotel because of course they did.

Mookie Betts showed up to play shortstop for first time after sleeping in a hospital chair

What a way to jump right in at shortstop.

Is there anything Mookie Betts can’t do athletically?

He’s played right field. He’s played center field. He’s dabbled at second base. He’s bowled perfect 300 games.

And on Thursday night? He played shortstop for the first time in his MLB career after being drafted as one (he said he last played in the minors in 2011).

Here’s the kicker: He had been off from the Los Angeles Dodgers due to paternity leave and said he had been sleeping in a hospital chair after his son was born. He joined the team after the game had started, then casually made a double play against the Chicago Cubs:

Amazing.

Mike Trout and Mookie Betts vehemently defended the WBC after Edwin Diaz’s knee injury

They don’t regret playing in the WBC at all.

In the lead-up to the World Baseball Classic, there was a sense of trepidation from some clubs about releasing their top players for the competition. After all, the tournament falls right in the heart of spring training when players aren’t always physically ready for a high-level, playoff-style baseball.

Injuries were the main concern, and on Wednesday, the New York Mets received terrible news after star closer Edwin Diaz suffered a knee injury during a celebration. On Thursday, an MRI confirmed that Diaz tore his patellar tendon, requiring season-ending surgery.

The awful injury news sparked a chorus of criticism for the World Baseball Classic. But you weren’t going to hear any regret from Team USA’s two biggest stars.

After Team USA’s 3-2 win against Colombia, Mookie Betts and Mike Trout were asked about Diaz’s injury and their thoughts on playing in the WBC given injury risks.

Both Trout and Betts defended the WBC with Trout, in particular, saying it was the most fun he’s had playing baseball. They made the point that players are still playing baseball during spring training where injuries can also happen.

And of course, there will always be the risk when it comes to the World Baseball Classic, which is partly why the USA pitching staff is lacking the star power of its position players. But to hear Betts and Trout defend the decision to participate — it holds plenty of weight.

Fans also had thoughts on the comments from Team USA’s stars.

Boston’s Mookie Betts trade (and 2022 offseason overall) looks so much worse after Jeter Downs DFA

The Red Sox continue to pretend they’re a serious baseball team

Plenty of Boston Red Sox fans are just moving on from their grief over the franchise trading away superstar Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020.

Well, all of those fun feelings are resurfacing on Thursday because the Red Sox are back at it again.

Not only is Boston in the midst of an embarrassingly bad offseason, but the club just took Jeter Downs — one of the centerpiece prospects sent to them by the Dodgers in the Betts’ deal — and designated him for assignment.

The move clears the way for the Red Sox to add Masataka Yoshida to the 40-man roster after signing the Japanese outfielder to a five-year, $90 million deal earlier this month. It also signals just how much Boston bungled a Betts trade that never needed to happen in the first place.

You might remember the whole reason the Red Sox decided not to re-sign arguably the best homegrown product in team history was because Boston didn’t want to exceed MLB’s luxury tax. You may also remember the Red Sox are the third-most valuable franchise in baseball—making them one of the most valuable sports franchises in the world.

Finally, you may remember the Betts deal was initially held up because the Red Sox were unsure if they wanted hard-throwing pitcher Brusdar Graterol due to concerns over his medical records.

So the final trade to send Betts to Los Angeles looked like this:

Nearly three years later, Verdugo is the only everyday player for Boston to come out of that trade. He slashed .280/.328/.405 with 11 home runs last season. After posting a WAR of 3.0 in his age 23 season with the Dodgers, Verdugo has yet to reach that mark again with Boston. He finished with a WAR of 1.2 in 2022—the lowest of his career since becoming an everyday starter.

Downs played just 14 gamed for Boston this season, slashing .154/.171/.256 with one home run. Wong has played just 33 MLB games total since joining the club.

And Graterol. Well, uh, he’s done this:

In the meantime, Betts and the Dodgers agreed on a 12-year, $365 million contract extension, won the 2020 World Series and continue to see the outfielder contend for MVP trophies.

Perhaps its no surprise that Boston finished dead last in the American League East (78-84) last year. The preseason over/under line on that team’s win total was 86. In 2023, oddsmakers think getting to 78 wins would an accomplishment in itself at the rate things are going.

You would think that Boston would’ve learned their lesson from the Betts debacle. You would be oh so wrong. It appears the only thing it learned was how to double down on horrible decisions.

The franchise didn’t even try to trade All-Star shortstop Xander Bogaerts. It just watched him sign an 11-year, $280 million deal to join the San Diego Padres instead.

Make no mistake: the Red Sox are not missing out on the best players on accident. They are deliberately choosing not to spend money despite having more than the combined value of the Padres and Houston Astros.

It’s become a running joke in baseball that reports continue to link Boston to high-end free agents despite the fact the Red Sox continually fail to sign them.

The good news is that Boston still has a number of highly-touted prospects in its farm system. Shortstop Marcelo Mayer is ranked No. 7 overall by MLB Pipeline. First baseman Triston Casas is No. 25 and utility-man Ceddanne Rafaela comes in at No. 96.

The bad news is even if these guys pan out, the Red Sox have given their fans zero reason to believe they’ll stick around longterm.

The even worse news is that when those players do inevitably leave, fans can’t trust their team to get a quality return.

If the best Boston could get for Mookie Betts was a declining Alex Verdugo and a handful of prospects that didn’t pan out, there’s no reason to trust anyone involved in the front office.

Maybe trading for a player named after your team’s biggest rival wasn’t the best omen to begin with.

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