MVP salute! Mookie homers twice with LeBron in house

LOS ANGELES -- Mookie Betts is no stranger to big moments. And playing in the entertainment capital of the world, he’s no stranger to famous fans, either.

Count basketball legend LeBron James -- in the house at Dodger Stadium on Saturday for a bobblehead night in his honor -- among them.

Betts put on a show for the 19-time NBA All-Star and four-time MVP by hitting a couple of homers in the Dodgers’ 3-1 victory to sweep a doubleheader against the Marlins. It was Betts’ 28th career multihomer game and his fifth of the season. Both homers came off Miami left-hander Braxton Garrett.

As Betts touched home following his third-inning solo shot, he pointed to James’ suite down the first-base line and gave him a salute. He did the same after going yard again in the fifth, as James joined the crowd in giving Betts a standing ovation and even tipped his cap.

Just a couple of MVPs showing each other some appreciation.

“I didn't think about it until the end,” Betts said of the salute. “He's done it during his games, and so I returned the favor.”

It was a big day overall for Betts, who also had the game-winning hit in Game 1 in the form of a two-run single in the eighth. During the nearly four-hour break between contests, Betts said he recharged by taking a nap -- which certainly seems to have worked.

“I don't think the league has figured it out in the last however many years he's been in the league,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said of Betts. “He's a special player, can play all over the place on the field. … There's not many holes for Mookie and you have to be very careful, and when you miss in the middle of the plate, he makes you pay, and he did that tonight.”

Betts, who won the American League MVP Award in 2018, is in the midst of another MVP-caliber season. He’s now slashing .298/.394/.595, with his .989 OPS trailing only Atlanta’s Ronald Acuña Jr. for best in the National League. His 34 homers rank third in the NL behind the Braves’ Matt Olson (43) and the Mets’ Pete Alonso (38) -- and he’s now just one shy of his career high, which he set last season.

Oh, and he’s doing it all while playing strong defense at second base and occasionally shortstop -- in addition to Gold Glove-worthy right field.

“I'm surprised, but also not,” Betts said of his lofty homer total. “I've worked so hard, man, I've worked really hard to be where I am now, and I’m gonna to continue to work hard. … I don't really pay attention to the numbers. I just want to win. That's all I care about.”

As for Betts and James, well, that’s a relationship that goes back a while. Betts said the two have met and talked with each other a few times over the years.

“I mean, he's just a normal person,” Betts said. “It’s just like another friend of mine that just says ‘good job.’ It just happens to be LeBron.”

They’ve expressed their support for each other publicly several times; James has posted about Betts’ postseason heroics on social media, while Betts recorded a heartfelt video message when James became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in February. The two even kicked around the idea of a joint parade with the 2022 Super Bowl-champion Rams that also celebrated the Lakers and Dodgers’ 2020 championships in a way that the COVID-19 pandemic prevented (though that never came to pass).

You know, just casual L.A. sports icon things.

“I think that was intentional. I do,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. “Hitting a baseball is as hard as anything to do. But I just think that Mookie had another gear to show out tonight. And we were all the beneficiaries. It was fun to watch him and LeBron -- two great ones.”