Los Angeles Dodgers' Mookie Betts Belts Home Run to Move Up All-Time Leaderboard

Mookie Betts crushed his 35th home run of the season Sunday afternoon to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers over his former team, the Boston Red Sox.

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts stuffed the stat sheet in his return to Fenway Park this weekend, and he moved up a pretty impressive leaderboard as a result.

Betts went yard in the top of the sixth inning against his former team, the Boston Red Sox, on Sunday. The two-run home run put the Dodgers up 4-0, and they would eventually go on to win the series rubber match 7-4.

Betts finished the day 3-for-5 with three RBI out of the leadoff spot, bringing him to 7-for-15 for the series.

With his latest home run Sunday, Betts now has 35 home runs as the Dodgers' leadoff hitter this season. That is tied for the seventh-most in MLB history, according to MLB.com's Sarah Langs.

Alfonso Soriano and George Springer hit 39 each in 2006 and 2019, respectively. Soriano also hit 38 in 2002, which is tied with Kyle Schwarber's 2022 campaign for the third-most ever.

Charlie Blackmon and Francisco Lindor each hit 37, with the former reaching the mark in 2017 and the latter doing so in 2018.

Mookie Betts’ 35 HR are tied for 7th-most out of the leadoff spot in a season, behind only:

2019 George Springer: 39
2006 Alfonso Soriano: 39
2022 Kyle Schwarber: 38
2002 Alfonso Soriano: 38
2018 Francisco Lindor: 37
2017 Charlie Blackmon: 37 https://t.co/XfYAhMzqUF

— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 27, 2023

Betts is hitting .315 with 35 home runs, 93 RBI, 10 stolen bases, a 1.018 OPS and a 7.1 WAR in 2023. At his current pace, Betts is on track to finish the year with 44 home runs, which would break Soriano and Springer's record.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. had long been considered the favorite to win NL MVP this season, but Betts and teammate Freddie Freeman are making serious pushes with a month left in the season.

Betts spent the first six seasons of his MLB career with the Red Sox, leading them to a World Series championship in 2018. The Dodgers traded for Betts in 2020, winning the World Series later that year.

At 30 years old, Betts has an AL MVP, seven All-Star appearances, six Gold Gloves, five Silver Sluggers and a batting title under his belt.

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