Betts living up to high expectations

By Maureen Mullen
Jul 11, 2018
8 min read

'Special player, special talent, special teammate'

BOSTON -- The legend of Mookie Betts began almost 26 years ago, in Nashville, Tenn., and is still in its early chapters. How that legend will grow and where the tale will take us remains to be seen.

But, it was almost inevitable that it would bring us to this point.

It began when his parents had the prescience to bestow upon their baby boy a name, the initials of which, would determine his future -- Markus Lynn Betts. Even better, they then gave him a nickname nearly unparalleled in its ability to be belted out by packed stadiums nearly every night -- MOOOOOOKIE! (And, not to worry Boston fans: The nickname is in honor of Mookie Blaylock, the basketball player his parents admired -- not Mookie Wilson, the baseball player who helped to put a dagger through the collective heart of Red Sox Nation in 1986.)

He even had an uncle, Terry Shumpert, who had a 14-year big league career, including 21 games for Boston in 1995. Betts wasn’t drafted until the fifth round in 2011, the 172nd overall pick, likely because of his commitment to the University of Tennessee. Since then, though, he has made himself one of the best players in the game.

When the Red Sox assigned Betts to Class AA to begin the 2014 season, a talent evaluator from another organization offered, unprompted, that he would just promote Betts to the big leagues right then, put him in the lineup every day, and not worry about him. That's how sure he was of Betts' abilities.

While the road to the major leagues is littered with minor league studs who turn into major league duds, Betts has justified that scout's faith. And then some.

Betts made his major league debut June 29, 2014, going 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored, playing right field at Yankee Stadium. In his first Opening Day game, in 2015, he became the first Red Sox leadoff hitter with at least one homer, four RBI and two stolen bases since the RBI became an official stat in 1920. In 2016, Betts finished second in American League MVP voting to Mike Trout, winning a Gold Glove and a Silver Slugger.

“He might be one of the best athletes in Major League Baseball,” said Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais. “He’s got the whole package. I think a thing that maybe people don’t give him enough credit for is his baseball IQ...I think his baseball IQ is off the chart.”

Betts had what was an off year for him in 2017, hitting just .264 with a .344 on-base percentage and .459 slugging percentage, below what were then his career averages of .292, .351 and .488, respectively. This season, though, he has once again put himself at or near the top of most offensive categories. His numbers for the season are just as impressive as what he’s done so far in his career. (See box below.)

“I think the fact that he does everything well, it’s not just one thing, is what caught me by surprise,” said first-year teammate J.D. Martinez. “I knew he was a good player, but I think he does a lot of little things really good.”

Betts, who came up as a middle infielder and converted to an outfielder in 2014, has even surprised himself. He has won the last two AL Gold Gloves as a right fielder and started the last three All-Star games in the outfield.

“I didn't know how good I would be at defense as far as being in the outfield,” he said. “I knew I could run down some balls but I didn't know I could be as efficient as I've been. But it took a lot of work and I’m still working on things trying to get better. Some of the power stuff that I've done I didn't know I could do. I knew I could hit some home runs but I didn't know I could do what I’ve done. Sometimes it just seems that that's something I might not get used to until I get a little older.”

Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is stationed next to Betts in the outfield as well as the Red Sox clubhouse, with side-by-side lockers. He is one of Betts’ best friends in the organization -- and one of the few people who calls Betts by his given name of Markus.

“He’s a special player, special talent, special teammate,” Bradley said. “He means a lot to this organization...We’re a better team with him in the lineup rather than out.”

Betts, who turns 26 on Oct. 7, is exactly 14 months younger than the Los Angeles Angels’ Mike Trout, who has two MVPs (and six top 5 finishes) and a Rookie of the Year on his resume. Trout knows Betts could be among the group hoping to unseat Jose Altuve, the reigning AL MVP.

“It’s awesome,” Trout said. “We both respect the game tremendously, we play the game hard, and every time we go out there we love to compete.

“You root for young guys who come up in the league and have an impact like he’s done so far. He’s fun to watch, plays the game hard. I hear nothing but good things about him. As a player that comes to the ballpark every day and respects the game and plays 100 percent every play and don’t take a play off, as an outfielder you see guys like that and you respect that. So he’s fun to watch.”

Angels manager Mike Scioscia knows what it’s like to watch an MVP every day.

“(Betts is) multidimensional,” Scioscia said. “You got to pay attention to him on the bases. In the outfield he’s terrific. He’s got a great feel for the game. So, he’s definitely put himself in the MVP conversation for many years to come and there’s no doubt there’s some challenges when you’re facing a guy as talented as Mookie.”

Alex Cora is the Red Sox first-year manager who has the benefit of writing in Betts’ name at the top of his lineup each day. Asked what Betts’ ceiling might be, Cora just laughs and shakes his head.

“Talent-wise he can do whatever he wants in this game,” Cora said. “He can hit for average, for power, run, score, drive in runs, play good defense. But, I think it’s going to get to a point where on a daily basis he can be a championship player, every day he can be game changer. We’re not there yet, we’re working towards that. And it’s not talent-wise; it’s a mentality.

“Sometimes I tell him ‘Hey, be cocky, man, you’re good. Let people know.’ But it’s not in his DNA. He’s very humble. But I think on a daily basis when Trout comes into town, people will ask questions about Trout. It’s going to get to a point that when we go play anywhere, people are going to ask about Mookie.”

While Betts sees himself taking on more of a leadership role on the field and in the clubhouse, he’s not quite to the point Cora envisions -- yet.

“Maybe not right now, but maybe at some point, hopefully,” Betts said. “I think it may help my confidence, for sure. I'm a pretty confident guy, but when things go rough, I'll kind of search a little bit and try and find it. Where if I have maybe that kind of confidence of, ‘Hey, I got it no matter what,' then maybe those rough patches are shortened.”

Boston president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski knows what it would mean to have a player like Betts in the Red Sox lineup for the long term.

“I think he should be a threat on a yearly basis to be an MVP-type of player,” Dombrowski said. “That's the kind of upside which is as good as there is for anybody in the game of baseball...He's one of the best players in baseball.”

Betts is signed through this season and under team control through the 2021 season.

“I always say in those situations is the Boston Red Sox would like to have Mookie as a player in our organization for a long time,” Dombrowski said. “We'll see if that can end up happening...We'd love to have a guy like that here for a long time.”

Betts is still trying to figure out where his ceiling might be.

“That's a great question. I don't really know,” Betts said. “I hadn't put any scouting reports out (on myself). I feel like I can be one of the better players around. That’s just one of those things where I have to go and work and just do everything I can to make that happen. I'm in the process of it now.”

Which isn’t good news for the rest of the league.

# # #

Some Mookie stats and notes:

Betts leads the majors in average (.359), slugging percentage (.691) and on base-plus-slugging percentage (1.139).
His .691 slugging percentage is the highest by a Red Sox hitter before the All-Star break. Hall of Famer Ted Williams is next, (1950, .690).
He is the fourth Red Sox player to reach 20 home runs three times before turning 26, joining Tony Conigliaro, Jim Rice, and Ted Williams.
Among Red Sox hitters before turning 26 since 1908, he is in the top five in runs, doubles, home runs, and stolen bases.
He is one of four AL hitters who have walked (46) at least as many times as he has struck out (42). The last hitter with a higher slugging percentage while walking at least as often as he struck out was Mark McGwire in 1996 (.730 SLG).
He is one of three batters with 20 or more homers and 15 or more steals.
In nine games against the Yankees this season, he is hitting .400, going 14-for-35, with 11 runs, six doubles, a triple, a home run (a grand slam on April 10), eight RBI, and a 1.190 OPS, with a grand slam on April 10.
Is one of 10 active hitters with a .290+/.350+/.500+ career batting line (minimum of 500 games) joining Miguel Cabrera, Joey Votto, Mike Trout, Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Matt Holliday, Jose Abreu, Paul Goldschmidt, and Freddie Freeman.
He is one of eight players with 35 or more extra-base hits through his 47 team games, since 1950:
Willie Mays, 1958
Hank Aaron, 1959
Frank Thomas, 1994
Edgar Martinez, 1996
Barry Bonds, 2001
Magglio Ordonez, 2007
David Ortiz, 2016
Mookie Betts, 2018
His four career three-homer games are the most in Red Sox history, passing Ted Williams, who had three. Betts passed Boog Powell and Ralph Kiner for the most such games by any player before turning 26.
He is one of 17 players since 1908 with as many as four three-homer games. The only other active player with four such games is Albert Pujols.
The only other Red Sox hitter with multiple three-homer games in the same season is Ted Williams (two in 1957). Betts has done so twice (2016, 2018).
Betts has a Red Sox record 10 multi-homer games as a leadoff hitter, the most among active major leaguers. Since 1908, only six other leadoff hitters have recorded 10 such games: Alfonso Soriano (19), Brady Anderson (14), Bobby Bonds (13), Johnny Damon (12), Rickey Henderson (11), and Craig Biggio (10).
His three career three-homer games from the leadoff spot are tied with Alfonso Soriano for the most since 1908.
He has 14 career games with three or more extra-base hits. Since Betts’ career began in 2014, Nolan Arenado ranks second with 10 such games. The only Red Sox hitters since 1908 with as many such games are David Ortiz (21) and Ted Williams (19).
The Red Sox have won 20 of his last 22 games with a home run, going 13-2 this season.