SI

Tino Martinez Had a Ridiculous Take About Mookie Betts and Mike Trout

In Wednesday’s Hot Clicks: the debate over the best player in baseball, Clayton Kershaw’s dominant performance and more.

Dan Gartland

Come on, guys

Mookie Betts showed in Game 1 of the World Series why the Dodgers traded for him and subsequently locked him up with a long contract extension. His home run and the run he scored thanks to some heads-up baserunning had people buzzing about his star power—and with good reason. The guys on Fox’s second-screen “watch party” broadcast went overboard, though. 

Betts had a thrilling bottom of the fifth inning. He worked a walk, stole second, stole third and then used his combination of speed and smarts to score on a grounder to first. 

It was an amazing sequence, and it had the watch party crew buzzing. 

“He might be the best overall baseball player in the game,” Rick Ankiel said. “I talk about that from a mental standpoint, too. There’s nothing that he can’t do.”

Tino Martinez went even further. He didn’t hedge with a “might be.” He just came out and declared Betts MLB’s best. 

“I think he’s the best player in the game,” Martinez said. “Mike Trout’s fantastic. This guy’s the best player.”

Betts is one of the three best players in baseball but he’s not even the best player in Southern California. It’s ludicrous to suggest that anybody other than Mike Trout is the greatest player in the game right now. 

It’s not an exaggeration to say that Trout might be the best baseball player in history. He’s a terror at the plate, an above-average centerfielder and a great base runner. He’s won three MVP awards, and there’s a very compelling argument that it should be six. 

Betts is fantastic. He’s an elite hitter, just not on Trout’s level, and you can give him a slight edge on Trout in the field and with his arm (even though Trout has actually improved his throwing arm). He could easily lay claim to the title of his generation’s best player if that generation didn’t also include the best player in many, many decades. 

Trout has been the best player in baseball for quite some time now, but it’s that sustained greatness that can lead people to overlook him. He’s been playing at such a high level so consistently that it can seem routine. It’s similar to how Michael Jordan won only five MVP awards. 

Martinez’s opinion isn’t a common one, but it does highlight something about Trout’s career that’s impossible for him to shake. Because of his lack of a strong supporting cast, Trout hasn’t had the opportunity to introduce himself to a national audience in the postseason the way Betts has. There are certainly casual baseball fans who watched Betts in Game 1 and came away wanting to see more of him. With any luck, we’ll get a Dodgers-Angels World Series matchup in the near future and people will get to see two of the game’s best go at it and become just as enamored with Trout. 

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Dan Gartland
DAN GARTLAND

Dan Gartland is the writer and editor of Sports Illustrated’s flagship daily newsletter, SI:AM, covering everything an educated sports fan needs to know. He joined the SI staff in 2014, having previously been published on Deadspin and Slate. Gartland, a graduate of Fordham University, is a former Sports Jeopardy! champion (Season 1, Episode 5).

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