Mookie Betts was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Red Sox in a blockbuster trade in February 2020. The Dodgers sent outfielder Alex Verdugo and top prospects Jeter Downs and Connor Wong to the Red Sox and acquired Betts and pitcher David Price. Before the start of the 2020 season, Mookie Betts and the Dodgers have agreed on a 12-year, $365 million extension, which is the second-biggest deal by total value in MLB history. As the season started on July 23, his journey with the Dodgers began.
Mookie Betts started in the right field and batted second is his first game in Hollywood. In the 4-game series against the division rival San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers split the series with the Giants. In 20 at bats, Betts had 3 hits and he collected his first RBI of the season in game 2.
It’s only the first of Betts’ many series with the Dodgers. It’s not a great start for Betts. However, does he usually heat up soon at the beginning of the season? Let’s look at Betts’ performance in the first series each season.
Mookie made his MLB debut at the Yankee stadium in 2014. It was against the rival New York Yankees. Betts batted eighth and started in the right field. He collected his career hit in the second at bat.
In the first series of Mookie’s first full season, the Red Sox traveled to Philadelphia. Mookie crushed a solo shot on the top of the third inning in the first game of the season. However, Mookie only had 1 hit in the next 2 games. In this 3-game opening series, Mookie hit .231/.286/.462.
Again, Mookie crushed a home run on the opening day. It was a 2-run shot against former Cy Young winner Corey Kluber. He had 2 hits in the first game. But, in the second game, Betts was struck out twice without any hits. In this 2-game opening series, Betts hit .200/.200/.500. The third game of this series, which was scheduled on April 7, was postponed.
It was supposed to be a 2-game opening series, but the series finale was postponed due to rain. Mookie batted 3rd and had 1 hit on the opening day.
The Red Sox started the 2018 season in Tampa. It’s a 4-game opening series, Mookie hit safely in 3 of 4 games. In particular, he had 2 hits and 1 stolen base in the series finale. He hit .286/.444/.357 to begin his 2018 MVP journey.
The defending champion Red Sox had a World Series hangover, losing 3 of 4 games in the opening series last season. However, Mookie was doing well in this series. He hit safely in 3 of 4 games. In the first game, Mookie collected 3 hits in 5 at bats. In the series finale, Mookie hit a solo shot, the first home run of the season.
The first series as a Dodger, Mookie Betts actually hit safely in 3 of 4 games. However, he’s Mookie Betts and just inked a long-term deal, it’s really hard for fans to be satisfied with only 3 hits in this series.
Mookie Betts’ first series as a Dodger was not good. Nevertheless, he’s Mookie Betts and he will find the way to make adjustments. We saw that Mookie had some bad starts before and in the end, he all did well. But, this season is a sprint, not a traditional 162-game marathon. Mookie won’t have too much time as he usually did. Can we expect Mookie Betts’ numbers in this season to be like the numbers in the 2018 season?
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