Mookie Betts did not have his best offensive season with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He struggled with his consistency, power and clutch hitting. He appears to have made several adjustments in the postseason and he has been somewhat more productive than he was in the regular season.
While Betts did not have the kind of offensive season that he or the Dodgers wanted him to have, he made a successful adjustment to playing shortstop for the defending World Series champions. Betts displayed range and throwing accuracy while making an adjustment from playing outfield and second base in previous years.
Betts did well enough in the field that he has been nominated for a Gold Glove. While he did not make a significant production over the announcement, his achievement is quite remarkable. Prior to coming to the Dodgers, Betts was an All-Star right fielder with the Red Sox. He showed off his all-around skills as an infielder prior to this season before moving to shortstop full-time.
“That’s validation for y’all, not me,” Betts said. “The goal was to be the best that I could be. Now, if that came with a Gold Glove, cool. If it didn’t, cool. If I can go to bed at night knowing I did everything I could, that’s all I care about.”
Betts and Dodgers fighting for 2nd consecutive WS title
The Dodgers seemed to have an ordinary regular season before they secured the National League West title. They had to battle the San Diego Padres late into September before they won that pennant.
Once the playoffs started, the Dodgers started playing their best baseball. They swept the Cincinnati Reds in the Wild Card series before defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 3-1 in the National League Division Series.
They opened on the road in the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers and they won both games at American Family Field to take a 2-0 advantage into Game 3 at Dodger Stadium.
