Dodgers: Walker Buehler Feels that Everything Mookie Betts Touches Turns to Gold
When the Dodgers got over the hump and finally brought home a championship this year, there was a lot that made the team great. A resurgent Clayton Kershaw. A mostly dominant bullpen. The return to health for Corey Seager. But perhaps the biggest piece came all the way back in February when LA got Mookie Betts from Boston.
In his first year with the Dodgers, he delivered on his promise to bring a title back to Los Angeles. Something the core of this team has been trying to do since at least 2016.
With that, Mookie’s teammates have been nothing but complimentary of the outfielder. Including Walker Buehler. In a recent interview with Rich Eisen, the right-hander was asked to pinpoint something about Mookie on or off the field that makes him so great.
In the first series we played in Arizona this year, I know he hit a home run, but in the first game he threw a guy out at third and just didn’t seem that excited about it — it felt very pedestrian to him, right? But we were all kind of dumbfounded and he was just, kind of, ‘alright, another out.’
As Eisen notes, Buehler wasn’t pointing to the play itself but rather the nonchalant reaction of Betts and the act like you’ve been there before mentality of his overall game. There’s a bravado to Mookie’s game that you only see in the best of the best.
From there, Walker started gushing over the NL MVP hopeful.
He’s one of those guys that everything he touches just kind of turns to gold. I know he’s almost a pro-level bowler. And we play a lot of ping pong in spring training, he’s pretty good at that. I played golf with him, he’s pretty good at that. … I think he’s just one of those guys that every day you watch him and just kind of realize how consistent he is as a player and as a person. We’re really lucky to have him.
In this case, I’ll happily concur with Walker Buehler… we are lucky to have Mookie Betts. For 12 more years!
NEXT: Evaluating Justin Turner and the Future of Third Base
