Los Angeles star shortstop Mookie Betts is known for his creativity on the field, and now he’s bringing that same mindset to his workouts. Betts has added an unusual training tool to his routine this spring: miniature javelins.

Hidden among the usual baseball gear inside his locker at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, are the lightweight javelins he’s been using during morning workouts.

According to Dodgers beat reporter Sonja Chen of MLB.com, for the past couple of weeks, Betts has headed to a quiet backfield before regular drills to practice throwing them, a method he picked up from teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

"It's been great. My shoulder feels great," Betts said. "We'll see how it goes in the long term."

Although javelin throwing is an Olympic event in its own right, it also functions as a demanding full-body exercise.

The technique requires strong lower-body stability and coordinated movement throughout the body to generate power while avoiding excess strain on the arm. Because of that, the motion shares similarities with a pitcher’s delivery.

Betts has already noticed subtle differences while throwing across the diamond during defensive drills. Still, he views the practice less as a way to improve one particular skill and more as a comprehensive workout.

"I think it's kind of like an all-in-one tool," Betts said. "But if you don't know what you're doing, you could probably hurt yourself. So luckily, I got the best teacher in 'sensei' to help me."

That instructor is Osamu Yada, a longtime trainer for Yamamoto who is known around the Dodgers as “Yada-sensei.” His training philosophy emphasizes flexibility, balance, and mobility rather than traditional weightlifting programs.

Yamamoto’s routine first caught the Dodgers’ attention when he arrived from Japan after a decorated career in Nippon Professional Baseball. While there, where he captured the prestigious Eiji Sawamura Award and Pacific League MVP honors three consecutive seasons.

His durability and preparation methods made an immediate impression.

Betts, who shares a similar smaller frame with Yamamoto, began working with Yada shortly after Yamamoto joined the club. He initially adopted the stretching routines two years ago but didn’t experiment with javelin throwing until this spring.

One moment that reinforced Betts’ interest in Yamamoto’s training methods came during the World Series, when the right-hander delivered a dominant Game 7 performance after already throwing six innings the day before.

"He went back to back in the World Series on zero days' rest," Betts said. "No surgeries this offseason, nothing. There's no real injury history. I mean, [it's] something that there's no real downside."

After a challenging offensive season last year, Betts entered the offseason determined to reset his swing and rediscover the fundamentals that made him one of the game’s elite hitters.

While much of his focus has been on returning to basics, he’s also willing to explore unconventional training ideas that might give him an edge.

"I'm looking to get better in every form of the game," Betts said. "This is one of them."

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