Tag: Mookie Betts

The Dodgers falling short of a World Series title would be one of the biggest letdowns in sports

After a historical season, anything less than a title would be a major disappointment.

It seems so long ago. In reality it was just a few months, April to be exact. I placed a bet on the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the 2022 World Series.

The bet wasn’t anything big, just a little action to stay invested in the baseball season. Then I proceeded to pay attention to every sport but baseball.

It was an informed bet, though. The Dodgers were just two years removed from a title and had the second-largest payroll in baseball (when has that ever mattered). I knew a lot of the names at just about every position: Mookie Betts, Cody Bellinger, Trea Turner, Clayton Kershaw. And they even added Freddie Freeman, who helped beat them in last year’s NLCS.

Then, I got lost in the NBA playoffs, and NHL playoffs, a whole WNBA season, the NFL came back, and next thing you know my little bet was forgotten about… That is until now, 162 games later. The exciting MLB playoffs are finally upon us. And whaddya know, the Dodgers finished the year with the best record in baseball. They remain the favorites to be the last team standing with +300 odds at BetMGM. Now it’s time to finish the job.

LA has consistently been one of the best teams in the majors since 2013, winning the NL West nine out of 10 years, reaching the pennant in six years and winning it three times. This year marks the fourth time in that span the Dodgers have won more than 100 games, and they also had the best record in baseball in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. Yet, all they have to show for all of that regular-season success is a single World Series championship.

Falling short this year wouldn’t just be a major letdown to my little, petty bet, it’ll be a major letdown to everyone involved. The Dodgers dominated this season and have by far the largest scoring margin in the majors (+334) to show for it. Their 111 wins are a franchise record and second-most in National League history behind the 1906 Cubs. That’s not a typo, they have the most wins in the NL since 1906!

Their pitching staff leads the majors in ERA and ranks fifth in strikeouts. Their offense leads the majors in runs batted in and ranks top five in batting average and home runs. They’re even second in FanGraphs’ defensive runs saved metric and ninth in stolen bases. This team literally doesn’t have a weakness. Which brings us back to the postseason.

The Dodgers’ NLDS opponent will be determined after the Wild Card round, which begins Friday. It might be the Mets (+700), it might be the Padres (+2800). No matter who it is, the Dodgers will be favored. And it won’t be enough for them to simply advance one round. They need to win a World Series this year, or all of those stats we just went over mean literally nothing. They only make this season — and my pockets — all the more disappointing.

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Mookie Betts had a hilariously sweet mic’d up exchange with Juan Soto on Sunday Night Baseball

“Can I use your eyes?”

It’s clear Mookie Betts is jealous of Juan Soto in one certain respect.

On Sunday Night Baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Diego Padres were playing in a key NL West matchup. As is tradition on these broadcasts, we got another incredible mic’d up moment, this time between Soto and Betts.

In this hilarious — yet kind of sweet — exchange between the two stars, Betts propositions Soto with a trade: his eyes for his batting power. Clearly jealous of Soto’s legendary plate discipline, Betts offered his power hitting in return to have his opponent’s outstanding vision.

Sadly for us all, Soto turned down Betts in the kindest way possible.

Honestly, I think I’d rather be a power hitter than a plate vision wizard if I were in this position!

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Mookie Betts jugó a cachar la pelota con un joven fan de Dodgers en las gradas

Es posible que Mookie Betts le haya hecho la noche a este joven fan. Durante el partido de la noche del lunes de Los Angeles Dodgers contra los Milwaukee Brewers, Betts fue más allá del deber para que un fan tuviera este momento tan especial. En …

Es posible que Mookie Betts le haya hecho la noche a este joven fan.

Durante el partido de la noche del lunes de Los Angeles Dodgers contra los Milwaukee Brewers, Betts fue más allá del deber para que un fan tuviera este momento tan especial. En lugar de su calentamiento usual entre una entrada y otra, Betts encontró a un pequeño fan de los Dodgers sentado en las gradas del campo central con un letrero que decía “Mookie, ¿quieres jugar a cachar la pelota?”, ¡y decidió jugar con él!

Y no fue únicamente una vez, Betts y el fan de los Dodgers estuvieron lanzando y atrapando la pelota por varios minutos durante media entrada para el calentamiento del jardinero derecho. Esto será un momento que nunca se olvidará.

Traducción: Mookie jugando a cachar la pelota con un fan en las gradas.

 

Traducción: Mookie Betts calienta en el jardín derecho con un fan en las gradas.

 

Definitivamente este será un momento que ese fan siempre recordará con cariño por el resto de su vida. ¡Qué momento de tanta clase! ¡Betts tomó tiempo de su calentamiento para ayudar a que un joven fan cumpliera su sueño!

 

Artículo traducido por Ana Lucía Toledo

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Mookie Betts played catch with a young Dodgers fan in the stands in classy moment

This is just too sweet from Mookie Betts.

Mookie Betts just made this young fan’s night.

During the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Monday night game against the Milwaukee Brewers, Betts went out of his way to make this special moment happen for a fan. Instead of his usual between innings warm up, Betts found a young Dodgers fan in the right field stands — holding a “Mookie wanna play catch?” sign — and decided to play catch with him!

And it wasn’t just one throw either, as Betts and the Dodgers fan went back and forth for minutes between the half inning as the right fielder got warmed up. Talk about a moment to remember right there.

That is absolutely a moment that fan will look back on fondly for the rest of his life. What a wonderfully classy exchange from Betts to take time out of his warmup to make that young fan’s dream come true!

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Freddie Freeman and Trea Turner laughed after Mookie Betts took a 98 mph pitch off the butt

Walk it off!

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.

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.

2022 MLB All-Star rosters: Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, Yankees’ Aaron Judge lead the starters

Dodger Stadium is going to be PACKED!

In arguably the best All-Star Game in all sports, the MLB has usually done quite well in making the Midsummer Classic a fun all-around spectacle. This year’s clash at Dodger Stadium between some of baseball’s best and brightest in the American and National Leagues should be no different.

On Friday night, in the ultimate news dump, the MLB revealed the starting position players for the 2022 All-Star Game. Some names — such as Angels’ superstar talisman Shohei Ohtani and Yankees’ “Mash Bros.” Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton — are hardly any surprises.

Others? There might be some controversy. But we’re not here to dilly dally! Here are the confirmed starting position players for the 2022 MLB All-Star Game in L.A. (The rest will be revealed on Sunday.)

Best MLB player props: Strikeouts should be aplenty in Phillies-Braves

Aaron Nola and Kyle Wright are both top 10 in K/9.

Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola hasn’t exactly been bad this season, but the team hasn’t won a single one of his starts since the opener.

Regardless, the righty regularly pitches into the sixth inning and ranks top five this season in strikeouts per nine innings. His Atlanta Braves counterpart on Thursday, Kyle Wright, also ranks top 10 while seeing the fruits of his labor pay off to the tune of a 4-2 record and 2.49 ERA.

Their duel headlines my top player props to watch for Thursday’s slate of games.

Odds provided by Tipico

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Mookie Betts went out of his way to get a Reds rookie’s first HR ball back from a fan

All class from Betts.

There are few moments that MLB players cherish more than that first big-league hit. It’s an accomplishment that takes a lifetime of dedication to reach, and that’s exactly why we always see the first-hit ball getting tossed back to the dugout for safe keeping.

That becomes more complicated, though, when the first hit happens to be a home run. But thankfully for Reds rookie outfielder T.J. Friedl, Dodgers star Mookie Betts was on the scene.

Friedl — in his second big-league at-bat — hit a pinch-hit homer to right field in the sixth inning of Sunday’s game in Cincinnati. It was both his first MLB hit and home run.

That was when Betts briefly put aside the competitiveness of an MLB game to make the moment even more special for Friedl in a tremendous show of sportsmanship.

Well aware that it was Friedl’s first MLB hit, Betts spoke to the fan who caught the home run and made a deal to get the ball thrown back. In exchange for the ball, Betts offered to give the fan one of his bats — which was a pretty sweet deal.

Betts got the ball and signaled to the Reds dugout before tossing it over. He’d later return to the spot in right field to give the fan a bat. That fan also decided to give the bat away to a young Dodgers fan.

It was just a classy exchange from everyone involved — the kind of moment you absolutely love to see at a baseball game. I’m sure Friedl will appreciate that an opponent went out of his way to make that happen too.

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Mookie Betts and his mom just had has the best bobblehead night ever

This is the absolute best.

The Betts family had an absolute blast at Dodger Stadium on Monday night for Mookie Betts’ bobblehead night.

Bobblehead night for a player always seems like a blast, but it especially is when you play well. And Betts hit a home run against the Braves during his bobblehead night which is an absolute flex in his own right.

But his mom, Diana Collins, was also there and she may have had a better night on the diamond than he did.

She threw out an absolutely fantastic first pitch for the night and got her son to blow her a kiss after he hit his homer. It was the most adorable thing ever.

And there she was in the front row cheering for her son after his homer.

That’s so much fun, man. What an awesome moment for the two of them. And what an awesome first pitch for momma Betts. Nobody has done it better.

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Whose house did Dodger star Mookie Betts buy in Southern California?

A big-time Southern California real-eastate transaction between sports figures as Mookie Betts buys Chip Kelly’s house.

Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts has made another big grab, and he didn’t have to use his glove.

The 2020 playoffs and World Series hero has purchased a home in Encino, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles.

The price for the home was $7.6 million, and the seller is well known, too. According to records, the house is being sold to the outfielder by current UCLA coach Chip Kelly and his wife, Jill Cohen.

Kelly and Cohen bought the residence two years ago for $7 million. A rare win for the Bruins coach, who has seen the program struggle since taking it over.

The details on Betts’ new home?

The estate sits on a prime Encino street just a few doors down from the $6.5 million home of Tristan Thompson, and is naturally walled and gated for privacy. Guests will be impressed by the large motorcourt and the two front-facing garages, which flank a double-door entryway.

Because the .57-acre lot is quite long and narrow, the mansion itself is likewise notably long and narrow, stretching way back to swallow 9 bedrooms and 10 baths within its nearly 9,300 square feet of living space. Though described in dated listing materials as a “Cape Cod,” the house visually cleaves more toward the ever-popular modern farmhouse style, with white oak hardwood floors, whitewashed walls, and plenty of natural light filtering in through oversized windows.