Dodgers: A Reminder of How Good Mookie Betts is in Right Field
Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts won his sixth career Gold Glove on Tuesday, which came as a surprise to absolutely no one who watched him play right field this year. After nagging injuries decreased his playing time and hampered his effectiveness when he was on the field in 2021, a healthy Betts bounced back in a big way in 2022.
In honor of Mookie’s Gold Glove, the Dodgers’ outstanding social media team put out a highlight video of some of his best plays this season.
Gold Glover, Mookie Betts. pic.twitter.com/heBUKUcqQh
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) November 1, 2022
That video is one of those you could watch over and over, but the crazy thing is, it doesn’t really tell the whole story of his greatness. Outstanding plays are very important, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned from this year’s postseason, is that they don’t tell the whole story. Nick Castellanos of the Phillies was the worst right-fielder in baseball this year by many measures, but to watch his highlight reel this postseason you’d think he was the reincarnation of Roberto Clemente.
Mookie’s great plays, on the other hand, come within the context of great overall play. He makes the diving plays, but he also makes the plays where he doesn’t have to dive because he got such a good jump. We don’t notice those as much. He throws guys out on the bases, but he also secretly saves runs by preventing runners from even trying to take an extra base on him.
This video shows why Mookie absolutely passes the eye test when it comes to defense. When you dig into the stats a little bit, you see that he’s even better than this video shows. And that’s saying something.
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It’s not his defense to worry about, it’s his offense, especially with RISP, which he fails at most of the time. He’s not even an average hitter at those times, when it’s needed most! What’s with all the accolades? is it to bolster the justification of his contract? Because he’s let the team down time after time, no matter what his teammates may say to keep themselves in good standing with the front office. His anemic offensive capabilities when it matters most has lost them games during the regular season but especially during, and most noticeable, in the post season. And then he goes out bowling the night before an elimination game. Ooh, he bowled a perfect score. Glad he’s got something to fall back on, because he bowled a perfect Zero for the team when it counted most!