Los Angeles Dodgers Leadoff Man Mookie Betts Keeps Making History With Home Runs

Mookie Betts has joined Alfonso Soriano as the second player in MLB history to hit 35 home runs out of the leadoff spot in back-to-back seasons.

Thanks to superstar Mookie Betts, the Los Angeles Dodgers have gotten a historic level of power out of the leadoff spot for the second year in a row.

Betts crushed yet another home run Sunday against the Boston Red Sox, lifting his team to a 7-4 win in the process. The 5-foot-9 slugger's 35 home runs are now tied for the seventh-most by a leadoff hitter in a single season.

In 2022, Betts also hit 35 home runs, all of which came when he was batting out of the leadoff spot.

Betts is now the second leadoff hitter in MLB history to post back-to-back seasons of 35-plus home runs, according to ESPN Stats & Info. Alfonso Soriano was the only player to accomplish the feat before Betts, doing so in 2002 and 2003.

Mookie Betts is the 2nd player in MLB history with consecutive seasons of 35 HR as the leadoff hitter, joining Alfonso Soriano (2002 & 2003) pic.twitter.com/Bkg0bpMTlA

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 28, 2023

The other leadoff men who have hit 35 or more homers in a single season – Charlie Blackmon, Francisco Lindor, George Springer and Kyle Schwarber – have each only done it once. Only 23 of Schwarber's 36 home runs this season have come when he was in the leadoff spot, making it difficult for him to catch Betts and Soriano over the next month.

Betts is hitting .315 with 35 home runs, 93 RBI, 10 stolen bases, a 1.018 OPS and a 7.4 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 for the most in a single season by a leadoff hitter.

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