Red Sox Mookie Betts Ready To Take The Spotlight

With much talk being around veterans either retiring or trying to reclaim their form, Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts may take the 2016 MLB world by storm.

In an article about the young man taking his team out for dinner, which is a story all of its own, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com noted that “Betts’ 68 extra-base hits (18 homers, 42 doubles, eight triples) [in 2015] marked the most by a Red Sox player age 23 or younger since Ted Williams and Bobby Doerr in 1940.” An amazing feat to be sure, but one that the Tennessee native would like to build upon this season.

Jason Mastrodonato of The Boston Herald commented as much when he reported a story that may have been overlooked by others this spring training: “‘See ya, Mookie!’ a bystander hollered out yesterday afternoon. The exhausted Betts didn’t even turn his head. He said nothing, just lifting his arm in the air and waving on his way out.”

It’s tough to judge how a professional athlete prepares for the labors of the season, but it’s easy to see when an athlete is taking every step in the process seriously. With people openly criticizing Red Sox players’ weight or work ethic in articles or on social media platforms, to see Betts so exhausted that he couldn’t even turn to smile at a fan but still wanted to recognize the bystander’s kind words is very telling of his mindset.

Mookie Betts came to Fort Myers to work hard to be ready for the regular season.

Have you ever been to a gym, whether for the first time or after years of working out, and look around at the number of people casually moving the weights around or spending a few minutes on the treadmill just before they start making the social rounds around the place? You know, the people who are there to say that they work out but don’t actually want to but the pain and sacrifice into the work? It doesn’t look like Betts is worried about making the rounds when it comes to his job as a professional baseball player.

And, even with the success of being 19th in American League MVP voting last season, Betts told Mastrodonato that he doesn’t want to rest on his laurels: “Even though I had a long, long stretch of struggling, I bounced back pretty well and learned from that. Hopefully I can eliminate that long stretch and not necessarily win the MVP, but win some games and a World Series.” Between working out in the gym, working on his game in the batting cage or the outfield, or just asking questions from the veterans, bet on Betts being relentless in how much he can soak up to improve himself.

Some of that mentality could be from the fact that Betts will not be arbitration eligible until 2018, with free agency not until 2021. Until then, the Red Sox have control over him with a contract paying Betts $514 thousand a year, not including any possible incentives. The new collective agreement, when it comes, will change the value of some of that future money and may influence the Red Sox to sign Betts to a contract extension early, depending on his play this season.

However, the five-foot-nine, 180-pound righty bat could have been an All-Star in his first full season last year, playing the leadoff role and yet being clutch like a cleanup hitter late in games. He hit .333 with runners in scoring position and hit .297 in late or close games, often scoring the last run to win the ballgame for the Red Sox. Betts also crossed the plate 83 times as the leadoff batter, ranking him sixth overall in both major leagues.

Many players would look at those numbers and say that they must be doing something right already, but Betts said that he still has more to learn and improve. That’s the mentality of a winner, or even a future MVP as Mastrodonato suggests. A young player doesn’t need to obsess about the game to an unhealthy degree, but to have Betts’ focus at the tender age of 23 will only propel him to greater heights. Arguably, many veterans in the league could use some of that same focus. Sadly in our society, it is somewhat unusual to see someone this young with this much talent not throwing it in people’s faces and taking it for granted, in all of professional sports.