Betts is the face of the Dodgers -- and he's fully embracing it

LOS ANGELES -- After wrapping up his batting practice session before Wednesday’s scrimmage at Dodger Stadium, Mookie Betts walked down the third-base line and into the left-field grass.

Once he got there, he was handed a microphone. Betts then cracked a smile as he turned to the few hundred season-ticket holders who made it out to watch the scrimmage and delivered a quick message.

In his first three seasons as a Dodger, that might have been something Betts would have shied away from. But this season, as he prepares to lead the Dodgers in this year’s postseason, Betts believes he’s finally in a place to better understand everything that comes with being the face of a franchise, which he certainly is for the Dodgers.

“I don’t come to work thinking that I’m this or that. I didn’t set out and say I wanted to be the face of this or that,” Betts said. “But I think a lot of that is embracing it and not running from it. Just understanding that here are these weights and whether you like it or not, we’re putting them on you, go get them. And the weights aren’t coming off.”

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Those weights are something only a handful of people in the game have to carry. It’s what comes with being the best player in an organization and one of the most recognizable talents in the sport. It’s definitely what comes with the territory when you sign a 12-year deal for $365 million.

Betts’ path to understanding and coming to terms with that responsibility was a process. In 2020, Betts got traded for the first time in his career. Growing up in Nashville and then starting his career in Boston, the West Coast was not something Betts even considered before the trade went down.

But because of COVID-19 and everything else going on in the world, Betts never really thought about how much the change impacted him. The following season, however, there was a noticeable difference in Betts. He never quite felt and looked like himself. It got to the point that Betts didn’t want to attend the All-Star Game because he did not truly feel deserving that season.

“I think a lot of it had to do with familiarity,” Betts said. “I was just trying to get my feet under me. COVID, you know? It was a lot. It wasn’t on anybody other than myself. Plus I got traded over here and I didn’t want to be in the West Coast. This was all new. I was kind of in a place where I didn’t want to be -- not necessarily the Dodgers -- but just the West Coast. I’m from the East Coast, from Nashville, and I just thought the sun doesn't shine unless it’s in Nashville, you know?”

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For Betts, the hardest part of the change was not performing up to his standards. While he starred in 2020 with a .927 OPS, Betts posted an .854 OPS in ‘21 and an .873 mark in ‘22. Those numbers are above league-average, but they didn’t meet Betts’ standards. It was something that wore on him as he tried to show off his talents in his new home.

“This is really the first year [with the Dodgers] where I’ve played decent,” Betts said. “I think that was also the reservation that I felt like I couldn’t really say nothing because I’m out here doing some average [stuff], you know what I’m saying? In my eyes, I wasn’t helping us win games and [was] just blending in. I kept telling me, ‘You signed this contract and you’re just gonna blend in?’”

This season, the change has been drastic for Betts. With the Dodgers needing some new leadership in the clubhouse, they’ve leaned on veteran presences like Miguel Rojas, Jason Heyward and David Peralta. But Betts now understands his voice hits a little deeper. He’s the superstar on the roster. He’s the one that’s going to set the culture in Los Angeles for more than a decade.

So that’s when Betts’ real work started. From the start of Spring Training, he started taking time out of his day to help younger players with their craft. His focus was no longer on playing a game and going home. Despite being a soft-spoken guy, contrary to popular belief, Betts became one of the loudest voices in the room.

“He’s realizing what the responsibility is,” said Dodgers first-base and outfield coach Clayton McCullough. “It’s like, ‘I’m here and I’m going to be here for a long time and this is my group.’ I hear him speaking up more in the hitters’ meetings and urging and pushing guys.”

As he found his voice, Betts’ play also resembled his highest level. He ended the 2023 season with a career-high 39 homers. The 2018 American League MVP should finish either No. 1 or No. 2 in National League MVP voting this season.

“It seems like I’m that kind of guy, but I’m really not,” Betts laughed. “If I can not talk and if I can just chill and play my game and go home, I would. But those are just not the cards I’ve been dealt with.”

These cards, however, have restored some of the joy Betts didn’t show over the last few seasons. As he turns 31 on Saturday, he knows who he is as a person, a player and a leader. It might have taken more time than some expected, but Betts is happy again and ready to lead the Dodgers to another World Series title.

“This year you could tell he’s a little bit more in tune with what he needs to do in order to be the face of a franchise,” said Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman. “He just accepted, ‘I’m here for this amount of years, I’m here for a long time and I want to do everything I can to win multiple World Series in a Dodger uniform.’”