Latest news with #Betts'
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'A major league shortstop, on a championship club.' Why Dodgers don't plan to move Mookie Betts
Before the start of the season, Dodgers first base and infield coach Chris Woodward pulled Mookie Betts aside one day, and had him envision the ultimate end result. 'You're gonna be standing at shortstop when we win the World Series,' Woodward told Betts, the former Gold Glove right fielder in the midst of an almost unprecedented mid-career position switch. 'That's what the goal is.' Advertisement Two months into the campaign, the Dodgers believe he's checking the requisite boxes on the path towards getting there. 'I would say, right now he's playing above-average shortstop, Major League shortstop,' manager Dave Roberts said this week. 'Which is amazing, considering he just took this position up.' Read more: Shaikin: 'Another log on the fire.' Yankees eager to avenge World Series meltdown against Dodgers Betts has not only returned to shortstop this season after his unconvincing three-month stint at the position last year; but he has progressed so much that, unlike when he was moved back to right field for the stretch run of last fall's championship march, the Dodgers have no plans for a similar late-season switch this time around. Advertisement 'I don't see us making a change [like] we did last year. I don't see that happening,' Roberts said. 'He's a major league shortstop, on a championship club.' 'And,' the manager also added, 'he's only getting better.' It means that now, Betts' challenge has gone from proving he belongs at shortstop to proving he can master it by the end of the season. The goal Woodward laid out at the beginning of the year has suddenly become much more realistic now. And over the next four months, Betts' ability to polish his shortstop play looms as one of the Dodgers' biggest X-factors. 'Getting to that, even when he's as good as he is now, there's still a lot to learn,' Woodward said. 'He's done good up to this point. So how do we maintain that [progress]?' Advertisement In Year 1 of playing shortstop on a full-time basis last season, Betts' initial experience was marked by trial and (mostly) error. He struggled to make accurate throws across the diamond. He lacked the instincts and confidence to cleanly field even many routine grounders. In his three-month cameo in the role — one cut short by a midseason broken hand — he committed nine errors and ranked below-league-average in several advanced metrics. 'Last year,' first baseman Freddie Freeman said when reflecting on Betts' initial foray to the shortstop position, 'it was like a crash course.' In Year 2, on the other hand, Betts has graduated to something of a finishing school. Unlike last year, when the former MVP slugger switched positions just weeks before opening day, Betts had the entire offseason to prepare his game. Over the winter, he improved the technique of his glovework while fielding balls. He trained on how to throw from lower arm slots than he had in the outfield. He focused on keeping a wider and more athletic base in order to adapt to funny hops and unexpected spins. He established a base of fundamentals that, last year, he simply didn't have; providing renewed confidence and consistently he's been able to lean on all season. Advertisement 'Preparation,' Betts said recently about the biggest difference in his shortstop play this year. '[I have been able] to prepare, have an idea of what I'm doing, instead of just hoping that athleticism wins. At this level, it doesn't work like that. So you have to have an idea of what you're doing. And I work hard every day. I'm out there every day early. Doing what I can to be successful.' Read more: Dodgers' bullpen melts down in eighth inning as trip ends with loss to Guardians Such strides have been illustrated in Betts' defensive numbers. He currently ranks seventh among qualified MLB shortstops in fielding percentage, his three errors to this point tied for the fewest among those who have made at least 50 starts. His advanced metrics are equally encouraging, ranking top-five in outs above average and defensive runs saved. 'He looks like a major league shortstop right now,' Roberts said, 'where last year there were many times I didn't feel that way.' Advertisement A finished product, however, Betts is still not. There are subtle intricacies he has yet to fully grasp, such as where to position on relay throws from the outfield. There are infrequent, higher-difficulty plays he's yet to learn how to handle. One important teaching moment came early in the season, when Betts' inability to corral a hard hooking one-hopper in a game against the Washington Nationals led to him and the coaching staff adding more unpredictable fungo-bat fielding drills into his daily pregame routine. 'It just kind of prompted a conversation of, 'You're gonna get different types of balls, and those are pretty rare. But what's the process of catching that ball? And What do we need to practice?'' Woodward recalled, leading to changes that were enacted the very next day. Advertisement 'The drills we do now, I don't know if anybody else can make them look as easy as he now does,' Woodward added. 'When he first started, you could tell, 'Oh man, it's uncomfortable.' But now, I smoke balls at him … and he's just so under control.' Another moment of frustration came last Sunday in New York, when Betts athletically snared a bouncing ball on his forehand up the middle … but then airmailed a backhanded, off-balance flip throw to second base while trying to turn a potential double play. Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts throws to first base during Monday's game against the Cleveland Guardians. (David Dermer / Associated Press) 'That was the first time ever in my life I've had to do that,' Betts said days later, prompting him to seek out more advice from Woodward and veteran shortstop teammate Miguel Rojas. 'Miggy was telling me I can't stress about it, because he got to mess that play up in high-A [when he was first learning the position]. Woody told me he got to mess that play up in double-A. I'm messing this play up for the first time ever in my life — in the big leagues.' Advertisement For Betts, it can be a frustrating dynamic, having to endorse inevitable such struggles as he seeks his desired defensive progress. 'I definitely feel I've grown a lot, just from the routine perspective,' he said. 'But I don't want to hurt the team, man.' Which is why, in the days immediately after, he then incorporated underhand flip drills into his pregame work as well. 'You're going to have to go through those moments to learn, to understand,' said Rojas, who has been a sounding board for Betts ever since last year's initial position switch. 'I don't consider that an error. I consider it a mistake that you're gonna learn from. Because that play is gonna happen again.' Advertisement 'It's like life in general. It's about learning from your mistakes,' Freeman echoed. 'And not that that [flip play] was a mistake. But it's like, 'Now I know how to adjust off of that.' If he was not even trying to attempt things, then you'll never know what you can really achieve out there. I think he's learning his limits of what he can do. And I think that's the key to it.' Such moments, of course, also underscore the inherent risk of entrusting Betts (who still has a grand total of only 132 career MLB games at shortstop) with perhaps the sport's most challenging position. It's one thing for such a blunder to happen in a forgettable late May contest. It'd be far less forgiving if they were to continue popping up in important games down the stretch. There's also a question about whether Betts' focus on shortstop has started to have an impact on his bat, with the 32-year-old currently hitting just .254 on the season while suffering incremental dips in his underlying contact metrics. Advertisement The root of those struggles, Betts believes, stems more from bad habits he developed while recovering from a stomach virus at the start of the season that saw him lose almost 20 pounds. Then again, even though he has been able to better moderate his daily pregame workload compared to the hours he'd spend every day fielding groundrs last season, he is still 'learning a whole new position at the big-league level,' Freeman noted, 'and all his focus has been on that.' It all creates a relatively tight needle for Betts and the Dodgers to thread the rest of the year. Betts not only has to make continued strides on defense (and prove, at a bare minimum, he won't be a downgrade from the team's other in-house options, such as Rojas or Tommy Edman). But, he also get his swing back in a place to be an impact presence at the top of the lineup. 'It's a lot to take on, to be a shortstop in the big leagues,' Freeman said. 'But once he gets everything under control, I think that's when the hitting will pick right back up.' Read more: Max Muncy, Michael Conforto come alive on offense as Dodgers defeat Guardians Advertisement It figures to be an ongoing process, one that could have season-defining implications for the Dodgers' World Series title defense. Still, in the span of two months, Betts has shown enough with his glove for the Dodgers not to move him — making what started as a seemingly dubious experiment into a potentially permanent solution. 'People around baseball should be paying a little more attention to the way he's been playing short,' Rojas said. 'He's had a lot of different plays that he's been able to kind of see in games,' added Roberts. 'He's a guy that loves a challenge, and he's really realized that challenge and keeps getting better each night." Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
29-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
‘A major league shortstop, on a championship club.' Why the Dodgers don't plan to move Mookie Betts
Before the start of the season, Dodgers first base and infield coach Chris Woodward pulled Mookie Betts aside one day, and had him envision the ultimate end result. 'You're gonna be standing at shortstop when we win the World Series,' Woodward told Betts, the former Gold Glove right fielder in the midst of an almost unprecedented mid-career position switch. 'That's what the goal is.' Two months into the campaign, the Dodgers believe he's checking the requisite boxes on the path towards getting there. 'I would say, right now he's playing above-average shortstop, Major League shortstop,' manager Dave Roberts said this week. 'Which is amazing, considering he just took this position up.' Betts has not only returned to shortstop this season after his unconvincing three-month stint at the position last year; but he has progressed so much that, unlike when he was moved back to right field for the stretch run of last fall's championship march, the Dodgers have no plans for a similar late-season switch this time around. 'I don't see us making a change [like] we did last year. I don't see that happening,' Roberts said. 'He's a major league shortstop, on a championship club.' 'And,' the manager also added, 'he's only getting better.' It means that now, Betts' challenge has gone from proving he belongs at shortstop to proving he can master it by the end of the season. The goal Woodward laid out at the beginning of the year has suddenly become much more realistic now. And over the next four months, Betts' ability to polish his shortstop play looms as one of the Dodgers' biggest X-factors. 'Getting to that, even when he's as good as he is now, there's still a lot to learn,' Woodward said. 'He's done good up to this point. So how do we maintain that [progress]?' In Year 1 of playing shortstop on a full-time basis last season, Betts' initial experience was marked by trial and (mostly) error. He struggled to make accurate throws across the diamond. He lacked the instincts and confidence to cleanly field even many routine grounders. In his three-month cameo in the role — one cut short by a midseason broken hand — he committed nine errors and ranked below-league-average in several advanced metrics. 'Last year,' first baseman Freddie Freeman said when reflecting on Betts' initial foray to the shortstop position, 'it was like a crash course.' In Year 2, on the other hand, Betts has graduated to something of a finishing school. Unlike last year, when the former MVP slugger switched positions just weeks before opening day, Betts had the entire offseason to prepare his game. Over the winter, he improved the technique of his glovework while fielding balls. He trained on how to throw from lower arm slots than he had in the outfield. He focused on keeping a wider and more athletic base in order to adapt to funny hops and unexpected spins. He established a base of fundamentals that, last year, he simply didn't have; providing renewed confidence and consistently he's been able to lean on all season. 'Preparation,' Betts said recently about the biggest difference in his shortstop play this year. '[I have been able] to prepare, have an idea of what I'm doing, instead of just hoping that athleticism wins. At this level, it doesn't work like that. So you have to have an idea of what you're doing. And I work hard every day. I'm out there every day early. Doing what I can to be successful.' Such strides have been illustrated in Betts' defensive numbers. He currently ranks seventh among qualified MLB shortstops in fielding percentage, his three errors to this point tied for the fewest among those who have made at least 50 starts. His advanced metrics are equally encouraging, ranking top-five in outs above average and defensive runs saved. 'He looks like a major league shortstop right now,' Roberts said, 'where last year there were many times I didn't feel that way.' A finished product, however, Betts is still not. There are subtle intricacies he has yet to fully grasp, such as where to position on relay throws from the outfield. There are infrequent, higher-difficulty plays he's yet to learn how to handle. One important teaching moment came early in the season, when Betts' inability to corral a hard hooking one-hopper in a game against the Washington Nationals led to him and the coaching staff adding more unpredictable fungo-bat fielding drills into his daily pregame routine. 'It just kind of prompted a conversation of, 'You're gonna get different types of balls, and those are pretty rare. But what's the process of catching that ball? And What do we need to practice?'' Woodward recalled, leading to changes that were enacted the very next day. 'The drills we do now, I don't know if anybody else can make them look as easy as he now does,' Woodward added. 'When he first started, you could tell, 'Oh man, it's uncomfortable.' But now, I smoke balls at him … and he's just so under control.' Another moment of frustration came last Sunday in New York, when Betts athletically snared a bouncing ball on his forehand up the middle … but then airmailed a backhanded, off-balance flip throw to second base while trying to turn a potential double play. 'That was the first time ever in my life I've had to do that,' Betts said days later, prompting him to seek out more advice from Woodward and veteran shortstop teammate Miguel Rojas. 'Miggy was telling me I can't stress about it, because he got to mess that play up in high-A [when he was first learning the position]. Woody told me he got to mess that play up in double-A. I'm messing this play up for the first time ever in my life — in the big leagues.' For Betts, it can be a frustrating dynamic, having to endorse inevitable such struggles as he seeks his desired defensive progress. 'I definitely feel I've grown a lot, just from the routine perspective,' he said. 'But I don't want to hurt the team, man.' Which is why, in the days immediately after, he then incorporated underhand flip drills into his pregame work as well. 'You're going to have to go through those moments to learn, to understand,' said Rojas, who has been a sounding board for Betts ever since last year's initial position switch. 'I don't consider that an error. I consider it a mistake that you're gonna learn from. Because that play is gonna happen again.' 'It's like life in general. It's about learning from your mistakes,' Freeman echoed. 'And not that that [flip play] was a mistake. But it's like, 'Now I know how to adjust off of that.' If he was not even trying to attempt things, then you'll never know what you can really achieve out there. I think he's learning his limits of what he can do. And I think that's the key to it.' Such moments, of course, also underscore the inherent risk of entrusting Betts (who still has a grand total of only 132 career MLB games at shortstop) with perhaps the sport's most challenging position. It's one thing for such a blunder to happen in a forgettable late May contest. It'd be far less forgiving if they were to continue popping up in important games down the stretch. There's also a question about whether Betts' focus on shortstop has started to have an impact on his bat, with the 32-year-old currently hitting just .254 on the season while suffering incremental dips in his underlying contact metrics. The root of those struggles, Betts believes, stems more from bad habits he developed while recovering from a stomach virus at the start of the season that saw him lose almost 20 pounds. Then again, even though he has been able to better moderate his daily pregame workload compared to the hours he'd spend every day fielding groundrs last season, he is still 'learning a whole new position at the big-league level,' Freeman noted, 'and all his focus has been on that.' It all creates a relatively tight needle for Betts and the Dodgers to thread the rest of the year. Betts not only has to make continued strides on defense (and prove, at a bare minimum, he won't be a downgrade from the team's other in-house options, such as Rojas or Tommy Edman). But, he also get his swing back in a place to be an impact presence at the top of the lineup. 'It's a lot to take on, to be a shortstop in the big leagues,' Freeman said. 'But once he gets everything under control, I think that's when the hitting will pick right back up.' It figures to be an ongoing process, one that could have season-defining implications for the Dodgers' World Series title defense. Still, in the span of two months, Betts has shown enough with his glove for the Dodgers not to move him — making what started as a seemingly dubious experiment into a potentially permanent solution. 'People around baseball should be paying a little more attention to the way he's been playing short,' Rojas said. 'He's had a lot of different plays that he's been able to kind of see in games,' added Roberts. 'He's a guy that loves a challenge, and he's really realized that challenge and keeps getting better each night.'
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Mookie Betts' Son's First Pitch Turns Heads Before Dodgers-Athletics
Mookie Betts is a fan favorite for the Los Angeles Dodgers. A staple near the top of the Dodgers lineup, Betts has been the ultimate team player since joining the Dodgers in 2020. Playing five different positions for the Dodgers, Betts has settled in nicely as the team's starting shortstop this season. Despite dealing with a mysterious illness leading up to the season, Betts has played in 39 of the Dodgers 42 games this season. He's batting .267 with six home runs and 25 RBIs to go along with three stolen bases so far this season. Advertisement Betts and the Dodgers are clinging onto the best record in the National League at 27-15, one game ahead of their NL West rival, San Diego Padres. And although the Dodgers would fall to the Athletics 11-1 on Tuesday night, Betts and Dodgers fans still had a reason to cheer. Betts was celebrated with his own bobblehead night inside Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. Betts' family would join him on the field, and his two-year-old son, Kaj threw out the first pitch prior to the game. Betts' son can be seen running through the infield, being chased by his six-year-old sister, Kynlee. While (Kaj) Betts was running wild, mom would track him down, bringing him in front of home plate. He would toss the first pitch toward dad, and the cuteness level would reach elite levels. Advertisement Betts' son's first pitch turned the heads of MLB fans everywhere. "so cute!" @hoot_hoot_wings posted on X. "Omg this is the best thing on my TL tonight. Little Mookie is the best!!" @HLMoonIt said on X. Even 50 Cent caught a stray after (Kaj) Betts' first pitch. "He had a better throw than 50 cent!" @Hiphoplives3423 posted on X. "Seen his sister and kicked it into next gear lol saw mom and hit the brakes," @Loicn237 said on X. Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie BettsKirby Lee-Imagn Images Despite the home-loss to the Athletics, the Dodgers still hold the second-best home-record (15-4) in the league behind only the New York Mets (17-4). Betts and the Dodgers will look to climb back into the win column on Wednesday when they take on the Athletics at 10:10 p.m. EDT. Related: Dodgers Send 1-Word Message Following Shohei Ohtani's Game-Winning Home Run
USA Today
05-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How many points has Lauren Betts scored in Final Four vs. UConn? UCLA star's stats
How many points has Lauren Betts scored in Final Four vs. UConn? UCLA star's stats Show Caption Hide Caption How UCLA head coach Cori Close learned from Geno Auriemma UCLA head coach Cori Close spoke to the media ahead of the Final Four and discussed how Geno Auriemma opened his door for her several years ago. Sports Pulse Lauren Betts makes her Final Four debut on Friday for UCLA women's basketball. The 6-foot-7 junior center has been the catalyst behind the Bruins' storybook season, and now she is tasked with leading UCLA past one of the sports' biggest blue bloods, UConn, in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. One of the top players in the country, Betts' physicality and toughness inside the paint has caused difficulty for opponents to figure out a way to stop her throughout March Madness. REQUIRED READING: How to watch today's women's basketball Final Four games: TV channel, live stream The Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year enters Friday's Final Four vs. UConn with 19 double-doubles on the season while leading the Big Ten in total blocks (99) and blocks per game (3.0). Betts, who was named the Naismith Women's Defensive Player of the Year on Wednesday, is coming off a strong defensive performance inside the paint in the Elite Eight against LSU, when she finished with seven rebounds and a career-high six blocks. Here's a deeper look at Betts' points Friday in the Final Four against UConn: Lauren Betts points today in Final Four This section will be updated throughout the game, which will begin around 9:30 p.m. ET Here's Betts' stat line in the Final Four vs. UConn: Points: — — Rebounds: — — Assists: — — Steals: — — Blocks: — — Field Goal Shooting Percentage: — — Free Throw Shooting Percentage: — Lauren Betts stats 2024-25 at UCLA Here's a look at Betts' stats at UCLA entering Friday's game vs. UConn: Points: 20.0 20.0 Rebounds: 9.6 9.6 Assists: 2.8 2.8 Steals: 0.9 0.9 Blocks: 3.0 3.0 Field Goal Shooting Percentage: 64.9% 64.9% Free Throw Shooting Percentage: 61.0% Here's a game-by-game breakdown of Betts' stats in the women's NCAA Tournament this year:
CBS News
02-04-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Dodgers improve to 7-0 behind Dustin May after beating winless Braves 3-1
Dustin May pitched five strong innings after missing nearly two years, Mookie Betts hit his third go-ahead homer of the season and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the winless Atlanta Braves 3-1 on Tuesday night. With a 7-0 mark, the defending World Series champions are off to the club's best start since moving to Los Angeles. The only better starts in franchise history came in 1955 (10-0) and 1940 (9-0) when the team was located in Brooklyn. The slumping Braves fell to 0-6 for the first time since opening 0-9 in 2016. May allowed just one hit and an unearned run. He struck out six and walked three in his first start since May 17, 2023. The right-hander missed last season while rehabbing from a torn flexor tendon in his right arm. In 2023, his season ended with Tommy John revision surgery. Anthony Banda (2-0) got the win with one inning of scoreless relief. Tanner Scott earned his second save. Betts' throwing error at shortstop in the second led to Atlanta's lone run. The center-field flags were blowing straight out on a windy night when Betts' two-run homer just cleared the left-field wall in the sixth. Also scoring was Shohei Ohtani, who singled leading off. The 2024 NL MVP has scored in each of the first seven games. The Dodgers have homered in six straight. They couldn't buy a baserunner for five innings against reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Chris Sale. After Betts' homer made it 2-1, Tommy Edman singled to knock out Sale (0-1) and scored on Will Smith's single. The left-hander gave up four hits, struck out five and walked none. The Braves designated 41-year-old reliever Jesse Chavez for assignment and added right-hander Zach Thompson to the roster. Dodgers outfielder Teoscar Hernández made a terrific catch of Drake Baldwin's drive leading off the seventh. He waited on the ball while security scattered, then leaned over the lower wall in right, snagging the ball in his glove. His momentum carried him over the wall, but he sprang to his feet holding his glove in the air as the crowd cheered. The Dodgers tied the 1933 New York Yankees for the longest unbeaten streak by a reigning World Series winner to start a season. Braves RHP Bryce Elder gets the ball for the first time this season in the series finale Wednesday. LHP Blake Snell (1-0, 3.60 ERA) makes his second start for the Dodgers.
