Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts’ early season slump left the former American League Most Valuable Player wondering if he could still do what he used to be able to.
“Yeah, definitely there’s doubt,” Betts said to The Orange County Register. “The game is moving. The game is moving and if you don’t keep moving with it you’ll get left behind. Look, man – I’ve never been the fastest on the field, I’ve never been the biggest on the field, I’ve never been the strongest on the field. I am literally average across the board in all facets of the game. I have to rely on a lot of things in my process to be perfect. That’s just the way it is.
“I don’t have a superpower to fall back on. I’m not those guys. I don’t have those things to fall back on. So it really has to be right, my process has to be right. You might say, ‘Oh, your hand-eye coordination.’ Everybody’s hand-eye coordination here is good – elite at this level. That doesn’t set you apart. It’s got to be something. So I feel like mine is my process and my hard work. That’s really the only thing I can control. I can’t make myself bigger or stronger or all those other things.”
Betts’ start to the season is average for his standards, even going so far as to call his .742 OPS through May “garbage.” His tone changed after he suffered a fractured toe and missed four games, however.
The eight-time All-Star is 13-for-37 in June, and has a .901 OPS since his return. He’s pulled his OPS up to .766 this season, and has raised his batting average to .269 from .257, which would have been a career-low.
The former outfielder’s numbers, despite being lower than he expects from himself, still trump most of MLB’s efforts, as his OPS+ sits well above league average at 119.
“I definitely feel like I’m in a better spot,” Betts said. “It’s just continuing to stack positive days. When you do go 0 for 4 or whatever or hit a little rut, it’s important that I believe in my process and keep stacking good days.”
