GLENDALE, Ariz. — Mookie Betts keeps upping the ante. He talked last season about wanting to be a Hall of Famer. His latest goal: to become, in his words, “a gaming legend.”
Betts, 31, made the statement during an interview I did with Fox Sports on Tuesday. I asked him what keeps him going at this point in his career after winning two World Series and an MVP award. What motivates him. What motivates him.
“Obviously my family,” said Bates, who is married with two children. “But there’s a drive within me to be great. I want to be great. When I’m done, I want you to remember not just the baseball player, but Mookie. I want to be a legend in the game.
“I don’t know how to create it. I just try to do it, make people smile as much as I can, sign as many autographs as I can, be the best player I can be when I play, be the best teammate I can be.
“No matter what happens, I’m going to try to do my best, no matter what. If it’s on the bench, I want to be the best cheerleader. No matter what it is. I think if I can do that, I feel like it’s going to create To create some kind of legacy that I can leave behind. You’re not going to remember everything on the field, but I hope people remember who Mookie was off the field.”
The major leagues rarely talk like this. Until recently, the culture of the sport discouraged any form of individualism. Free speech is becoming increasingly accepted, as evidenced by the league’s 2019 “Let the Kids Play” promotion. But even now, few players openly discuss personal goals, preferring to focus solely on the team.
To be sure, Betts is intent on getting his Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series, which they did in the shortened 2020 season, but haven’t accomplished that feat in a full season since 1988. The team spent $1 billion this offseason, including adding Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and he spoke of a “sense of urgency” this spring.
“We’ve been to the playoffs a lot of times and never made it,” Betts said of the team’s 11th straight playoff appearance. “We’ve gotten one, but going one to nine or 10 isn’t great for our sport, overall.”
Earlier this month, Bates rolled ground balls at Camelback Ranch. (Rick Scutli/USA Today)
In order to become a “legend of the game,” at least from a Dodgers fan’s perspective, Betts knows he has to be better in October. He performed well in the 2020 postseason, but the Dodgers have gone a combined 2-for-25 in the past two Division Series games, first by the San Diego Padres and then by the Arizona Diamondbacks, both times in wins Eliminated from the regular season after 100 or more wins.
However, when Betts mentions his goal of becoming a legend, he’s not necessarily referring to his on-field performance. I asked him when he realized it was possible for him to reach such a position, and that it was something he wanted. His answer is telling.
“My friends really paid attention to me,” Bates said. “They told me to hug myself. When you walk into a place and someone wants to come over and take a picture, or someone is nervous, give it a hug. I used to kind of shy away from it. Now, when I see someone a little shy, I just I go and talk to them. I go and humanize myself.
“I’m a human being like everyone else, but there are some things I do a little bit differently and some lives I impact a little bit differently, and I think I should accept that. I think. I’m doing the best I can. That’s for me It’s weird, it’s weird to even say that. But it does come from my friends. They’ve been with me since I was in fifth grade, so they knew where I was at. We had no idea this was going to happen. “
“That” includes his phenomenal 2018 season with the Boston Red Sox, when he won the American League batting title with a .346 batting average, helped the Sox win the World Series and was named AL MVP. It also includes seven All-Star appearances and six Gold Gloves, not to mention a contract worth $365 million, the third-most guaranteed in major league history.
However, Betts’ popularity stems not only from his excellent all-around skills but also from fans’ love for a player who stands just 5-foot-9 and weighs 180 pounds. Bates is far from a behemoth. At times, he also showed an endearing, almost childlike joy for the sport.
The Dodgers plan to use Betts primarily at second base this season — he recently joked to reporters that he left his right field glove and cleats in Los Angeles. He moved flexibly between right field, second base and shortstop last season, displaying rare versatility, especially for a superstar.
“I feel like I’m a kid again,” said Bates, a Nashville, Tenn., native. “Growing up, I never played any position. I’m almost like a utility guy. I have four uniforms, and whoever needs a right fielder, shortstop, second baseman, third baseman or first baseman, we go there. It’s almost weird to only play one position, especially in the outfield. “
Wait, Betts played for four different youth teams at the same time?
“Wherever they need it,” he continued with a smile. “Sometimes I would just hit field, sometimes I would hit left. It didn’t matter. My dad, I admire that about him because I think it really taught me how to be a baseball player and not just play one position all the time. .”
It’s the beginning of something big for Betts, who is entering his 11th season in the major leagues. The Hall of Fame seemed within reach, but he still wanted more. Win another World Series. Appreciated on and off the pitch. Become—yes, that’s what he said—become a gaming legend.
(Top photo of Mookie Betts: Masterpress/Getty Images)
