Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Calls 2024 Padres ‘Most Talented Team’ He’s Ever Seen
After the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the New York Mets in the National League Championship Series and the New York Yankees in the World Series, many considered the San Diego Padres the best team the Dodgers faced in the playoffs. The Padres were the only team to take the Dodgers to the final game of the series in the 2024 postseason, and at one point held a 2-1 lead over the Dodgers in the series.
Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts had high praise for the Padres, calling them the ‘most talented team’ he has ever seen.
“We’re playing them and at the time, to be fair, they were way more talented than we were,” Betts said on his podcast, ‘On Base with Mookie Betts.’ “That was probably the most talented team I’ve seen. They were the best team in baseball.”
There were already multiple people who believed that the Padres were one of the top two teams in baseball this season, but for Betts to call them the best team he has faced is a whole other level of praise. As a three-time World Series champion, Betts has gone up against his fair share of great teams.
The Padres were undoubtedly talented. They had arguably the best starting rotation at the end of the regular season with Yu Darvish, Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, and Michael King all pitching great. The Padres had an equally great lineup with players like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill, and Luis Arráez among others.
This Padres squad showed how great they could be in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against the Dodgers, when they embarrassed the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium with a dominant 8-2 victory. The Padres set a postseason road record with six home runs in a single game, and Darvish allowed just one earned run over seven innings.
The Padres took Game 3 of the series, but the Dodgers’ bullpen shut the Padres out over the final two games of the series. Had the Dodgers not come out strong for the final two games, it’s very possible the Padres would have won their first World Series title.
The Padres might be the most talented team Betts has faced, but the Dodgers are arguably more talented overall, especially when healthy. It’s nearly impossible to match their lineup top-three of three former MVPs, and they have an incredible rotation and bullpen that is consistently limited because of injuries. Both teams were not short of talent this season, but the Dodgers ultimately prevailed when it counted most.
Photo Credit: Kim Hong-Ji/Reuters via USA TODAY Sports
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Mookie is right to give props to the Padres. However, in the NL division race, they fell short…again. And the Dodgers won the WS. No matter how talented you are, it doesn’t matter if you at don’t win your division and get to the WS. Reportedly the Padre clubhouse is a toxic atmosphere with Machado being a problem along with Tatis.
Yea, the Padres were great, blah blah blah. 111 win 2022 season anyone? Bueller? Or since this is LA, Buehler? They thought they won it in game 3 of the NLDS. Regular season is just positioning for and making the playoffs. Sick of the dual standard of other teams can be great without winning it all but LA has to win it all to be great. October is when it matters, and as always, the Padres have failed…again.