Fastball

Mookie Betts Continues to Move Up All-Time List in Baseball History with Big Game on Friday

The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night, 7-3, to even up the series at one game apiece. In the win, Dodgers' star Mookie Betts to produce, climbing a prestigious list in baseball history.

Brady Farkas

May 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50)
May 17, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) / Kiyoshi Mio-USA TODAY Sports
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The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night, 7-3, to even up the series at one game apiece.

The win moved the Dodgers to 30-17 on the season while the loss dropped the Reds to a disappointing 19-26. Los Angeles is the third team to 30 wins thus far, joining the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees.

In the win, Dodgers' star Mookie Betts continued the hot start to his season, going 1-for-4 with a home run, an RBI, a walk and two runs scored. He's now hitting a robust .341 on the season while posting an OPS of 1.002.

Furthermore, with another leadoff home run, Betts continued to climb up a prestigious list in baseball history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

that’s Mookie Betts’ 51st career leadoff homer, 5th-most in MLB history, behind only:

Rickey Henderson: 81
George Springer: 57
Alfonso Soriano: 54
Craig Biggio: 53

Betts now has 31 leadoff homers with the Dodgers, 3 more than anyone else in franchise history (Davey Lopes, 28)

The Dodgers have a huge advantage by having Betts at the top of the order, because if he's constantly able to start the game with a homer, it's obviously easier to play from ahead right off the top.

Furthermore, Biggio and Henderson are Hall of Famers, so any time you can join Hall of Famers (and likely eventually pass some), you're doing something right.

One of the most impactful players in baseball, Betts is a seven-time All-Star, a six-time Gold Glover, a two-time World Series champion and a former MVP (2018).

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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