How Betts' input helped net a big win for LA
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Mookie Betts’ first season as a Dodger included MVP-quality stats, but the club expected that. Here’s what they didn’t expect.
From his Spring Training clubhouse meeting challenging new teammates to be as driven as he, to the bond that developed when the entire team joined Betts sitting out a game to protest social injustice. From coaching teammates out of batting slumps to orchestrating last week’s double steal in Game 2 of the National League Division Series against the Padres.
Betts makes everyone else better. That’s why the executive that acquired him in the February blockbuster with Boston now believes he got even more than he bargained for.
| Game | Date | Result | Highlights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gm 1 | Oct. 12 | ATL 5, LAD 1 | Watch |
| Gm 2 | Oct. 13 | ATL 8, LAD 7 | Watch |
| Gm 3 | Oct. 14 | LAD 15, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 4 | Oct. 15 | ATL 10, LAD 2 | Watch |
| Gm 5 | Oct. 16 | LAD 7, ATL 3 | Watch |
| Gm 6 | Oct. 17 | LAD 3, ATL 1 | Watch |
| Gm 7 | Oct. 18 | LAD 4, ATL 3 | Watch |
Shop for postseason gear: “I think so. Obviously, that’s incredibly high praise,” president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told DodgerTalk’s David Vassegh. “We had very lofty expectations for the impact he would have. But just being around him every day, watching the consistency and the work ethic, how much he cares. There’s such a genuineness about him and about everything he does that I think trickles down to all of our other players.
“As good as our guys were in the past at being focused and driven and locked in at what they needed to do to succeed, he somehow -- and I didn’t think there was much headroom -- he somehow has helped bring that up even another gear, which has been really fun to watch.”
For example, Cody Bellinger’s homer-stealing catch in the top of the seventh inning that saved Game 2 of the NLDS was a deserving magnet for industry-wide celebration. But in the process, it overshadowed a double steal in the bottom of the sixth inning that was equally vital -- and pure Betts.
San Diego had cut L.A.'s lead to 4-3. With one out, Betts was on second base, Corey Seager on first and Padres manager Jayce Tingler brought in left-hander Drew Pomeranz to face Justin Turner.
Ever wonder what players talk about during a pitching change?
“We met over at the side and Mookie was kind of talking about [stealing third], so he definitely let J.T. know it was possible,” said Seager.
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When play resumed, Pomeranz looked at both runners before delivering, but Betts was confident there wouldn’t be a pickoff attempt and took off. Turner took a ball, Betts easily beat catcher Austin Nola’s throw to third and Seager advanced to second base as the trail runner. Turner followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Betts, and Max Muncy’s bloop single scored Seager with what proved to be the decisive sixth run. Without the double steal, those two runs probably don’t score.
“Our advance scouts did such an amazing job, and one of the things that came to life was with Pomeranz and the double steal and how it fits in with his look, and Mookie pays attention to that stuff,” said Friedman. “When Pomeranz was brought into the game, Mookie ran over to [first-base coach] George Lombard and they talked about it, and the advance report came to life and they took advantage of it.”
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On the field, in the dugout or clubhouse, as if the Dodgers aren’t deep enough with abundant talent and aided by an expanded roster, Betts is like a combination of everything good in one undersized package.
“The comp I gave is, Mookie plays the game like an extra player,” said Friedman. “Like the guys on the bench who have a really good feel for the game -- really good on the bases, really good defensively -- because most extra players in the big leagues have to be good at those things. It’s not very often when you have the most talented player on the field also doing those things. It takes a really special person and level of focus, and that’s absolutely what we’ve seen from Mookie on a daily basis.”