Mookie Betts entered this season with a stomach illness, after which he couldn’t really return to his usual MVP caliber of play. The eight-time All-Star and six-time Gold Glove winner is batting only .239 with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs this season. However, on Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, he finally appeared to tap into his old spark. He sent a hanging slider from Max Scherzer into the left-field pavilion. It marked his first home run since early July. The Dodgers notched a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays. However, the win didn’t excite Betts enough despite scoring twice and driving in three runs.
Apparently, his mind was elsewhere. That time, he was thinking about his stepfather, who died just weeks ago. He has been through a lot throughout this year. First, the stomach bug that made him lose 20 kgs, then the midseason toe injury kept him out, and now he’s grieving the passing of his stepdad. “It’s been a lot,” he admitted.
Now that he’s finishing his footing back, it’s not really working out. Just last weekend, he endured a career-worst 0-for-22 stretch.
#Dodgers Mookie Betts had a “grind session” with friend, JD Martinez. He listened to his wife. And he declared his individual season unredeemable. “I want to be in the Hall of Fame one day and you have to accept these numbers are always going to be there.”https://t.co/LnXvbZBXTp
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) August 10, 2025
Luckily, last weekend when the Dodgers were in Tampa, he got to meet with an old friend and ex-teammate, J. D. Martinez. They made their way to a batting cage. “We’ve been doing that since 2018, going to batting cages on the road,” Betts revealed that Martinez understands his swing better than anyone.
He labelled Martinez’s advice as “super valuable.” What’s even more precious is how Betts’ wife, Brianna, stood by him all along. After Saturday’s game, Betts finally felt confident to compete, as he expressed his belief in his abilities. He gave due credit to Brianna, who told him to “stop looking to other people for answers. Look within. You’ll figure something out.” She wanted him to stay put and he’ll find the answers.
When asked if anything is freeing about not worrying about the numbers on the back of your baseball card, he said, “Yes and no.” He gave the much-needed reasoning, too.
It was, yes, because “you know you can’t salvage the season.” And it was no because, “I want to be in the Hall of Fame one day, and you have to accept these numbers are always going to be there.” He emphasized that it might be hard to accept, but in the end, that’s how it works. But for now, as he’s grieving his stepfather, even those numbers don’t feel good enough.
Mookie Betts misses the longtime ritual he had with his stepdad
For every home run Betts had hit, his stepdad always used to text him—“home run Mookie time!” with the number of homers after. “Not getting that text was sad. I was thinking about it after hitting the home run. I’d always know. It was like clockwork. I’d look after the game and it would say ‘Text sent at 8:12’ or whenever I hit the home run. It’s a situation that kind of sucks.” It has indeed been a tough year for Betts.
His personal tragedy and injury history are partly why he’s endured the worst offensive season of his career. He admitted to being lost and spiraling in Friday’s game. A source who has close ties to Betts revealed to Buster Olney that he drives himself crazy when he’s going through a slump.
Entering Saturday, Betts is hitting .239/.309/.371 with 12 home runs, 51 RBI, 68 runs, eight stolen bases, a 90 wRC+, and 1.4 WAR across 106 games. Over the course of the last three games, the Dodgers’ star has started to fix the gaps by recording six hits in 16 at-bats.
But then, according to him, those three games cannot overshadow the burden of how the season has gone. Still, he wants to make the boys win. “Get an RBI, make a play, do something,” he said. For Dave Roberts, Betts is his “premium player,” and he has unwavering faith in him. For now, there’s no doubt that Betts will regain his form. What’s concerning is how soon he will be able to get over everything going on in his mind.
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