By: Eilis O’Neil | Staff-Writer and Social Media Management
When I say that I miss Mookie Betts playing for the Red Sox, that is a complete understatement. Words cannot describe how much I miss our right fielder. Ever since the trade, the Red Sox team dynamic just felt empty. Not a lot of players could match the energy of Betts, but everyone fed off of it: we saw it in 2018 when the Red Sox took home the World Series in a 4-1 game lead.
Mookie Betts, in short, is a lifesaver. We saw it in 2018 and now 2020 with the World Series. The 5-foot, 9-inch right fielder makes unbelievable catches, throws, dives- and not to mention that his offense is unreal. Given the whole pandemic, some COVID positive cases, and some COVID scares, the Major League Baseball organization scheduled only 60 games. Let me tell you, it was weird not taking the day off from work and getting on the Red Line at Alewife Station to catch a 1:00 PM game at Fenway.
The second I heard Mookie Betts getting traded way back in February, I knew the Los Angeles Dodgers was getting one of the best players I have seen in my lifetime. Sure, it was absolutely heartbreaking and a few tears might have been shed, but that is just the game and how the organization works. Any team is lucky to have Betts on their team. Walking onto a new team with many past accomplishments can be difficult, since there might be different dynamics along with different talent each player brings. The Los Angeles Dodgers have yet to win a World Series in 32 years. There have been plenty of opportunities for them to cinch the title, but they missed every single chance by so little, especially the 2018 World Series against the Red Sox. These games come down to close calls along with the energy created by the teams and fans.
As a star player on the Red Sox, Betts carried his talents to the Dodgers as he started in 55 out of their 60 game season. Throughout those games, there were key plays, saves, throws, and hits Betts made, just as he did on the Red Sox. For a 60 game season with a 0.291 at-bat average, Betts did a very good job doing his part for the Dodgers. I knew the moment I heard that Mookie Betts might get traded, he would do an excellent job on any team. On the bright side, he did help break the 32-year curse of the Dodgers not winning a World Series!
Cover Image: Mookie Betts by Bart Hanlon on Flickr is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
