In the years since the February 2020 deal that brought him from the Red Sox to the Dodgers, one of the game’s best players has gone Hollywood in a way he probably couldn’t have in Boston.
CLEVELAND — It’s been less than four years. But it seems like a lifetime. “For sure,” said Mookie Betts, who will return to Boston this weekend for the first time since his trade to the Dodgers in February 2020.
“Even though it wasn’t that long ago, it feels like it was forever ago. I feel like I’ve been a Dodger for a long time, even though I haven’t. So yeah, it does feel like that was a different chapter. I mean, it actually was. I was 21 to 28, didn’t have kids, all those things. So now I’m a completely different person.”another World Series title in 2020 , marriage in 2021, a second child and first son born this year and a second MVP award becoming more possible each day. Four years into the 12-year, $365 million contract extension he signed with the Dodgers a few months after the trade, Betts has gone Hollywood in a way he probably couldn’t have in Boston. He started his own YouTube channel last year. He is a partner in One Media/Marketing Group which produced a Jackie Robinson documentary last year and is developing other projects including a scripted series and game shows. Like seemingly everyone in America, he hosts a podcast . Unlike most podcasters, though, he has been able to snag a lineup of MVP guests like Clayton Kershaw, Aaron Judge, Christian Yelich and Mike Trout. But leaving Boston also meant giving up something – the opportunity to be one of those iconic players who spend their entire career with one team. But Betts said he doesn’t look back with any regrets. “No. Because it kind of got me to where I am today,” he said of those first six years of his major-league career. “You can’t live life with regrets. When you make a decision, you live with it. And I can’t say I made the right or wrong decision, but I made a decision and that’s why I’m here in life. I’m happy, very happy. “But if things shook out differently, then I’m sure I would’ve been happy that way too. So I don’t have any regrets. I just made a decision, and now I’m living with it.” The Dodgers have seen what going back to a former home can do to a player. Freddie Freeman’s return to Atlanta last yearBetts said he has “no idea” what emotions he might feel this weekend but he doesn’t expect to have a similar reaction as Freeman last year. “No. Me and Freddie’s situation is different,” Betts said. “I don’t necessarily need closure. It’s just cool to go back and see my roots.” Freeman returned to Atlanta just a few months after signing with the Dodgers. The breakup was still fresh and receiving his 2021 World Series ring that weekend added to the emotions. Betts has had longer to process his own feelings about leaving Boston and credits Red Sox GM Chaim Bloom with communicating throughout the process. Freeman was blindsided when the Braves traded for Matt Olson, leaving him without a home to go back to. “It’s gonna be cool. Going right back would have been cool too,” Betts said of having four years to gain perspective. “I think either one. Just going back in general will be cool. If I had gone right back, it would have been different because I would have known more people. But now, I know very few people on the team. I don’t know what changes have been made in the organization, as far as simple stuff like clubbies and stuff like that, the people I came in contact the most with. I don’t know where those people are.” There are only two people from Betts’ last season in Boston still playing for the Red Sox – Chris Sale and Rafael Devers. There are as many wearing the Red Sox uniform now who played with Betts in Los Angeles – Kenley Jansen and Justin Turner. Betts said he “absolutely” has some anxiety about how he will be received by the fans when he takes the field at Fenway Park for the first time since September 2019 when he scored the winning run in a walk-off win for the Red Sox on the final day of the season. There was some initial negative reaction to reports that Betts had turned down a 10-year, $300 million extension offer from the Red Sox, prompting Bloom to trade him away. Betts now disputes those reports. But the criticism has landed squarely on Bloom in the years since as the package of players he got for Betts – outfielder Alex Verdugo and prospects Connor Wong and Jeter Downs – have failed to excite anyone in Boston. Meanwhile, Betts returns playing at an MVP level once again. He matched his career-high with a five-hit game in Cleveland and has gone 24 for his past 41 with nine multi-hit games in his past 11. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts called him “the best player on the planet right now” after Thursday’s game. “The only real, honest reason is just I played well,” Betts said of the likelihood that Boston fans will greet him warmly in his return visit. “When you go to Boston and you don’t play well, they let you know. That’s when it’s kind of hard. You can dig yourself a hole and it’s hard to get out of. It’s hard to get out of even when you go to another organization. “I think playing well is the No. 1 reason I think I enjoyed it so much. It helped shape who I am today, and let me know that it doesn’t matter where I go or who we’re facing or what atmosphere you’re in. If you can play in Boston, you can play anywhere.”Outfielder Jonny DeLuca began a minor-league injury rehabilitation assignment with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Thursday. DeLuca has been on the injured list with a hamstring injury since July 26. Both Emmet Sheehan and Gavin Stone have pitched with an ‘opener’ in their most recent outings for OKC, perhaps a signal of how the Dodgers plan to use them down the stretch. The Dodgers have no starting pitcher listed for Sunday’s game at this point.
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