Mookie Betts Shares Valuable Advice With Baltimore Orioles Superstar

Gunnar Henderson got some words of wisdom from Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts.

Aug 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts warms up. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Hollywood knows how to bring out the stars, even on the diamond.

This week's interleague series between the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers has featured some of the best players in baseball, from Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Burnes to Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani.

Despite having nearly identical records, the two teams are pretty different. The Orioles are the new kids on the block, as they're loaded with young talent and are still up and coming. The Dodgers, on the other hand, are more like the New York Yankees, led by established veterans with a track record of success.

That includes Betts, who's already one of the most accomplished players in the game. A former MVP and a two-time World Series champ, the 31-year-old outfielder is well on his way to the Hall of Fame.

With Baltimore in town for a crucial three-game set at Dodger Stadium this week, Betts hosted Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson on his podcast, "On Base."

Despite being rivals on the field, Betts had some words of wisdom for the 23-year-old Henderson, who expressed the challenges of becoming a team leader in just his second full season.

Gunnar Henderson was on Mookie Betts’ podcast and it’s a really cool episode. Here’s Mookie giving Gunnar advice on how to embrace being a leader #Birdland

(Credit: On Base with Mookie Betts) pic.twitter.com/gifZDfVVWR

— Cordell Woodland (@CordellWoodland) August 29, 2024

"You're really good, we all know that. And so you kind of signed yourself up for that, and so you should embrace it. " Betts told Henderson. "You should embrace knowing that 'I'm hitting third, I'm one of the best shortstops in the league, I'm about to hit 40 (home runs), I'm gonna win MVPs at some point.' Embrace it."

Betts knows what Henderson is going through. When he was with the Boston Red Sox, David Ortiz retired after his second full season. At age 24, Betts became the face of the franchise overnight.

Perhaps speaking from experience, Betts advised Henderson not to feel like he has anything to prove.

"Don't feel like, 'Ah, I still gotta prove it.' No, no, no, you've already done that. You know you've done that. You can't do more," Betts said. "Just embrace who you are, and once you do, the pressure and all that stuff will go away."

For Baltimore's sake, hopefully Henderson takes Betts' tips to heart. Henderson has been mired in a brutal slump lately, perhaps because he's been pressing and trying to do too much at the plate. The Orioles are locked in a tight divisional race with the Yankees, so Henderson may be feeling pressure from that as well.

Regardless, Baltimore needs him to go back to being the MVP-caliber player he was during the first half. If he follows Betts' advice, maybe he will.