LOS ANGELES -- Mookie Betts had plenty of options coming out of high school. Betts could have pursued a career in bowling, a sport he has excelled at his whole life. He also could’ve chosen to play basketball, receiving plenty of interest from smaller schools. A walk-on opportunity at the University of Tennessee wasn’t out of the question.

But when the Red Sox selected him in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB Draft, Betts needed to make a decision on his future. After consulting his parents, Betts made the decision to pursue a long career in baseball.

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Since then, Betts has become one of the best players in the Majors. At just 29 years old, Betts has two World Series titles, an MVP trophy, five Gold Glove Awards and a batting title. In 2018, Betts became the first player in American League history to win the World Series, a Gold Glove Award, a Silver Slugger Award and league MVP in the same season.

On Tuesday, Betts will represent the Dodgers -- along with Trea Turner, Freddie Freeman, Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin and Tyler Anderson -- in his sixth Midsummer Classic.

“To me, this is Mookie Betts,” said Dodgers left-hander David Price. “There were times in Boston where he would do something crazy in the game and he would come sit next to me downstairs and I would be like, ‘Dude, I have no clue what I would throw to you. I don’t know how people get you out.’ People can’t get him out, he just gets himself out. It’s wild watching it.”

Even with all he has accomplished, Betts remains a fierce competitor on the field. It’s a trait he picked up from his parents, and something he carries into everything, including fielding fly balls in the backfields during Spring Training.

Winning more World Series titles is what motivates Betts in the short term. The Dodgers are one of the favorites to win the World Series in '22. If they accomplish that, Betts, who wants to be known as a winning player, would secure his third ring. That would be yet another accomplishment for Betts, which would help him get to where he ultimately wants to end up: Cooperstown.

“My end goal is to one day have a Hall of Fame speech,” Betts said. “You can’t take any days off. You have to keep the fire lit. You can’t just cash in a day. Obviously you’re going to have your bad days, but that’s not from a lack of effort or lack of focus. But that’s kind of what keeps me driven.”

After dealing with a nagging hip injury in '21, Betts has taken another step toward his ultimate goal. The six-time All-Star is back to producing at his usual clip, leading the Dodgers with 20 homers.

Aside from feeling healthy physically, Betts has also worked on his mental health, which he credits for his success. Instead of listening to music, he has focused on listening to podcasts and tips from people like actor Will Smith and motivational speaker Inky Johnson. In every way, Betts has looked more like the player that terrorized manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers during the '18 World Series.

“I lost a lot of sleep,” Roberts said, when asked about game planning against Betts. “It has certainly helped my sleep having him on our roster. And I can imagine what guys go through trying to gameplan for Mookie, Trea and then you have Freddie [Freeman] behind them. Having [No.] 50 on our team makes my life a lot better.”

Making history in every at-bat is what Betts aims for. He’s accomplished a lot of that in his first nine Major League seasons. Earlier this year, he moved up yet another list, tying Alfonso Soriano for the most multihomer games out of the leadoff spot.

Betts still believes the best is yet to come. He knows making the Hall of Fame is hard. That’s just the way he likes it.

“I also said I wanted to win an MVP and win a World Series, which is also very hard to do,” Betts said. “My cousin [Terry Shumpert] played 14 years in the big leagues and never made the playoffs. I knew that it was really hard to do. But if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. I try to do the things that are really hard.”