Red Sox RF Mookie Betts
It’s hard to believe that there was ever a time that Mookie Betts struggled with the game of baseball, but that was the case in early 2013. An unheralded fifth-round pick out of high school in 2011, Betts displayed good bat-to-ball skills, speed, and defense, but hit just .267 in his first year in the minors with zero home runs. Betts then began the 2013 season batting .145 through May 5, a mark so bad that he began to think about quitting baseball.
It took an intervention by hitting coach U.L. Washington to make the Mookie Betts we know today. Washington realized that Mookie’s big leg kick was throwing off his timing and prevented him from driving the ball with any authority. As soon as the change was made, Betts became a different hitter.
He rocketed up prospect charts by hitting .314/.417/.507 with 15 home runs and 38 stolen bases during that 2013season. He was even better in 2014 (.346/.431/.529), so good in fact, that he earned a callup to the show at 21 years old.
It’s safe to say that Mookie was worth the hype. Over his six seasons in Boston, he made four All-Star teams, finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times having won the honor once, while adding four Gold Gloves.
Pretty much the only disappointing thing about Bett’s Red Sox tenure is how it ended: A disheartening trade to the Dodgers in an effort to clear up salary. Despite the abrupt end, however, there is no doubt that Mookie is one of the greatest players in franchise history.