Dodgers Chris Taylor: Mookie Betts Makes Everyone Around Him a Better Player
After Tuesday night’s win, every single sports media outlet was all over the Mookie Betts narrative. Each and every person that came to the microphone in the Dodgers’ postgame scrum was asked to deliver some point of praise or anecdote about the star outfielder.
And it was understandable. Betts was coming off of an electric game with the bat and the with the glove — and yes, the legs too. The new sparkplug for the Dodgers as they look to get to the promised land for the first time in 32 years.
Keeping with the theme, Chris Taylor was asked about ways that Mookie may have helped his own game in some way.
Mookie’s a winning baseball player. There’s a lot of superstars out there, but some are ingrained to where all they want to do is win and I’ll do whatever it takes. I think Mookie’s one of those guys.
He’s spot on so far. CT3 continued on about the intangibles that Betts brings that not every player might bring to the table.
From his base running, you know, that’s where you see guys that are really committed and they do the little things on the bases. That’s a sign of a winning baseball player right there. And then in the clubhouse in the team meetings, he’s always locked in. The things he says, you can tell he’s a natural leader. Just being able to play with him and learn from him by watching him has been huge for me.
There was the famous fixing of Austin Barnes that began to show fans that maybe this guy is in it for more than just himself. Mookie might be the most driven individual in the Dodger clubhouse. But praise and accolades aside, it’ll all mean nothing to Betts, Taylor, and the Dodgers if they can’t secure three more wins over the Rays.
NEXT: Rays Tie up the Series After Bats Show Up Too Late