Mookie Betts is never going to back down from a challenge, especially if it is for the betterment of the team.
As spring training is underway for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Betts has returned to the infield and is looking to cement himself in baseball history as the third player to ever win a Gold Glove as both an infielder and an outfielder.
However, the personal achievements for Betts aren’t as meaningful if the team doesn’t do well. He also doesn’t care what position he plays as long it helps the team win ballgames.
“It’s definitely something different,” Betts said, via MLB.com’s Sonja Chen. “But I’m just doing what’s best for the team, what I feel like is best for the team. If it’s here, it’s here. If it’s right, center, doesn’t matter. I feel like I’m a baseball player, and as long as I put a glove on, I feel like I’m going to be pretty good at it.”
Betts initially moved to the infield during spring training last season but he was supposed to play second base. However, halfway through the spring he switched with Gavin Lux.
His last major league game at the shortstop position was on June 16, when a hit-by-pitch fractured his left hand, sidelining him for nearly two months. Upon his return, he shifted to right field, where he has earned six Gold Glove Awards.
“He certainly felt he had unfinished business,” manager Dave Roberts said, “and he popped out to right field because it was the right decision at that time given our roster. But I do feel that … he wanted to really give himself the best chance to be a top performer at short.”
Now that the Dodgers have their full squad at camp, it’s easy to see just how much work Betts has put in to become a better shortstop. He has discovered which arm slot to throw from and that’s a credit to his teammate Miguel Rojas, who has worked with Betts throughout the offseason.
“He looks way more comfortable,” Rojas said, “especially on the throwing side. … Finding your slot is very important, because you throw the ball from a different position than when you throw it in right field. He’s not throwing the ball way too much over the top or on the bottom.”
Nine of Betts’ errors last season were from bad throws, once he addressed that issue his confidence has soared. If he enters the regular season feeling like this, a Gold Glove could be in his future.
