Dodgers News: Mookie Betts Doesn’t Care About MVP Race, Focused on Winning World Series

After having perhaps his greatest season since winning the American League MVP, Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts has the chance to become only the second player in MLB history to win the MVP in both the AL and the NL.

While Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. remains the heavy favorite, Betts was dominant in August, though his performance tapered off a bit in September.

Acuna has continued his strong season into September, with a 1.115 OPS, six stolen bases and eight home runs.

Both MVP candidates are playing for teams with the first and second-best record in the National League, so either would make a strong case. For Betts, however, the MVP award is “irrelevant.”

“I don’t know, man. I mean MVP is cool but it’s kind of irrelevant,” Betts said when asked where he thinks he stands in the race. “We play to win the World Series and the individual goals, like I said, they’re really cool — and some people play for that, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all … But me, I play because I want to win.”

(Via SportsNet LA)

Betts said that he has been staying off of social media for the last month and a half to avoid becoming distracted from preparing for the playoffs. His teammates have helped him avoid focusing on the MVP award as the regular season wraps up.

“That would be the time to do it, for sure,” Betts said on trying to focus on the MVP after the Dodgers clinched the NL West. “But for me, I think the guys in here keep me straight … especially J.D., Freddie, I mean all the guys. They really keep me on the straight and narrow and don’t really worry about those things. It’s really easy to not pay attention to personal accolades.”

(Via SportsNet LA)

Betts and the Dodgers have five more games in the regular season before they can fully shift their focus to October.

Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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