In baseball, there are few untouchable legends whose feats are unlikely to be matched by the game's modern stars. One of those immortalized icons is New York Yankees first baseman Lou Gehrig. Unfathomably, one of his seemingly unbreakable records just got matched by present Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts.
The outfielder and part-time shortstop continues to amaze fans with his big bat in 2023, going 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs and a double in the Dodgers' 11-4 route of the Los Angeles Angels Friday. The monster night was Betts' 23rd career game with three extra base hits, tying him with Gehrig for the most ever by a player 30 years of age or younger, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Yankees fans already had plenty of reason to groan when hearing Betts' name, but him joining the same rarefied air as the Iron Horse just feels like a low blow. In any case, the 30-year-old is on a blistering pace to set personal bests in homers after belting 25 to this point. Although he finished second in National league MVP and was the hero in the World Series-clinching Game 6 in the shortened 2020 campaign, this year is shaping up to be the most impressive of Betts' LA tenure.
Mookie Betts is returning to being an average hitter (.277), is second in WAR (4.2) and top five in both slugging (.581) and OPS (.959). The seven-time All-Star is putting up those robust offensive numbers while also playing at short 16 games this season. On most years, this type of production would have him solidly in MVP contention if not the favorite, but history-chasing Ronald Acuna Jr. and Luis Arraez have arguably overshadowed the two-time World Series champion.
Reaching the same milestone as one of the greatest baseball players of all-time should correct that, though.
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