This season got off to a slow start for Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts as he dealt with a stomach illness. He wasn't showing up as his usual self in all phases of his game. It was something that bugged the perennial All-Star and Gold Glove winner.
Yet, at the most important time of the season, Betts appears to be back in his old form. That's a welcome relief for not only him but the Dodgers as well.
Betts admits that he's had to change a little bit about the way he gets his business done in the field and at the plate. He started off pretty well with Mookie-usual numbers. But those numbers started slipping and, while dealing with the stomach illness, he tried working on his swing mechanics.
"When I worked throughout the day, I knew it wasn’t good," Betts said, according to Dodgers reporter Manny Randhawa of MLB.com. "But I had no idea how to fix it. I just wasn’t getting that feeling that I had a chance. You’d have to play to understand. I don’t care if you’re Shohei Ohtani or the 26th man on the roster, you get that feeling when you know you have a chance."
MLB HR Videos (@MLBHRVideos) on X
Mookie Betts - Los Angeles Dodgers (15)
Betts added that he began to feel like he had to approach his at-bats as though he was "perfect" in his approach. Even that, though, wasn't producing numbers to his satisfaction.
The tide has turned in the past month for Betts. He has put together a slash line of .330/.405/.454 since Aug. 5. One key element to his improved numbers is that he's learned to accept his numbers whatever they appear to be at a particular time.
"This is no shade to anybody; there’s always role players and role players are very important in sports," Betts said. "It takes a whole team. I’ve never been a role player. And I’m not saying that to boast, I’ve just never been that guy."
Instead of feeling a sense of pressure or dread as the go-to Dodgers superstar, Betts appears to be OK with more of a support role.
The Dodgers are still in first place in the National League West Division and look to put some more space between them and the San Diego Padres in the coming days. Betts will be in the lineup, offering his usual professional efforts in the field and at the plate.