Mookie Betts knew his first return to Boston since being traded by the Red Sox would be emotional. But he didn’t want it to become a distraction when he stepped onto the field at Fenway Park.
So to help him focus on baseball, he leaned on some wise words of the late Kobe Bryant.
“I have a job to take care of. Gotta separate business and emotion,” Betts said Sunday after he led the Dodgers to a series victory over the Red Sox. “I’ve learned from a couple people, especially Kobe. I got to talk to him right before he (died), he kind of explained that to me and I just put it into my repertoire.”
Betts’ performance this weekend would have certainly made Bryant proud.
The Dodgers outfielder was, naturally, instrumental in beating his former team this weekend, which he helped complete in Sunday’s 7-4 rubber game victory with a 3-for-5, three-RBI performance that included a two-run homer over the Green Monster. He finished the three games going 7-for-15 – which included sparking the Dodgers’ late rally in Friday’s opener – as he continued his August tear.
It was certainly not an easy task for Betts to remove his emotions from the weekend. He received a standing ovation from the Fenway crowd in each of the three games in his first at-bat and he saluted them back every time. But he certainly made it look easy.
“It’s remarkable how he was able to be accessible but not feel overwhelmed as far as the people he had to see and obligations, to still focus on the job at hand, it’s not easy to do,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “I’m sure he’s going to sleep well tonight. I’m sure he’s physically and emotionally exhausted. But man, he’s a pro and he does a great job of compartmentalizing. It’s fun when you have expectations for a superstar and he delivers, and he did.”
Red Sox manager Alex Cora, while certainly not thrilled by Betts’ on-field efforts this weekend, appreciated how he was received by the fans in his return.
“That’s great,” Cora said. “This place is special and the kid is special and they recognize how good he was on the field for us and off the field. So not surprised at all. I mean, these people get it.”
While nearly four years had passed since he last stepped foot inside Fenway Park, his return meant something deeply to him after being drafted by the Red Sox in 2011 and becoming a superstar in Boston during his first six big-league seasons. He admitted he was “really nervous” last week as he anticipated the weekend. But after it was all over, Betts said coming back gave some closure to that chapter of his baseball career.
“I think it kind of acted as it,” Betts said. “Four years of being in another place and kind of establishing a whole new life, if you give your all to that, it’s going to kind of take away from something here, and being that it was four years, it wasn’t so bad. But it did act as closure.”
How would Betts sum up the weekend?
“Everything was super dope,” Betts said. “All of what the city has done for me, everybody here and what they’ve done for me. I was very blessed and am very blessed. I thank everyone, the fans, front office, everybody, for the opportunity because it definitely shaped me into who I am today.”
Betts will now move on as he continues to be the engine of the first-place Dodgers, and his performance this weekend only aided his MVP case. His homer on Sunday was his 35th of the season – which ties his career high that he set last season – as he pushed his hitting streak to 15 games. He’s now batting .464 with a ridiculous 1.324 OPS in the month of August. He’s certainly in the conversation to claim his second career MVP award, which he won with the Red Sox in 2018.
Would he like to win it?
“It would be cool to win. It would be super cool,” Betts said. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say it wouldn’t be cool, but the number one thing is winning the World Series. … Just playing well, man. In this clubhouse, it’s so much fun. So much fun to come to work and be in the dugout and be amongst these guys, it’s easy to play well. That’s why we’re doing so well. It’s a little easier to play well when everybody’s pulling for you.”