Dodgers: Mookie Betts Makes Zero Excuses for 'Sucking'
Two of the three position players on the Dodgers who've won MVPs have had solid starts to the season. Entering play on Saturday, Freddie Freeman was hitting .346 while Cody Bellinger owned a respectable .816 OPS. Mookie Betts has been the odd man out.
The 2018 AL MVP has scuffled at the plate this season. Prior to first pitch of the Dodgers-Padres game on Friday, Betts had a 61 wRC+ and a .178 batting average. Betts then went out and looked every bit like a MVP caliber player. The right fielder hit two home runs, stole a base, and scored three times in the Dodgers 6-1 win over the Padres.
Betts didn't blame the hip that bothered him for most of last year nor the shortened spring training. He pointed the finger squarely at himself (quotes via The Orange County Register's Bill Plunkett).
“It’s just me. I can’t blame it on the hip, I can’t blame it on anything else. It’s all me. You have to take ownership for sucking. It is what it is though. I’m working. My teammates have been amazing in keeping us winning and I just want to do my part to help us win.”
He then discussed how his teammates helped pull him out of a mental spiral.
“You have to be mentally tough and, you know, I wasn’t. I was not mentally tough and my teammates stayed on me..you just kinda let it get to you and then it just compounds. I take full ownership of letting it compound.”
It's still April, but Betts is a key part of the Dodgers vaunted batting order. If the Dodgers leadoff man can get it rolling offensively, LA will be tough to beat.
More importantly, it's great to hear one of the clubhouse leaders take responsibility for his poor performance and not blame it on past injuries.
