Los Angeles star Mookie Betts was not in the starting lineup over the weekend for a fall classic rematch with the New York Yankees. He also missed Monday’s series opener against the New York Mets.
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Now on the sidelines on a broken toe, Betts has made an unprecedented transition from right field to shortstop this season. His defense was certainly impressive, with him recording an average of three or more outs and placing him in the 89th percentile among qualified fielders.
Betts, the gold glover on the right field, ranks as top national league shortstop in virtually every metric.
But Betts’ performance on the plate is a different story. In his last 15 games before the injury, Betts was hitting .207 clips with a 58-12 hit.
The star doesn’t know why he’s going down years offensively.
“I don’t know, man,” Betts told Bill Plunkett on the Orange County Register. “I wish I knew, then I’ll answer, but I have no real excuses or anything.”
In 2019, Betts reached just .254 with an OPS of .742. Both are career lows. It’s easy to imagine the sacrifice of playing a shortstop led to this slump offensively, but Betts had asserted that his unprecedented transition in the decline in offensive numbers was causal.
“I mean, you can point to it and try to make it about the shortstop, but that’s not a shortstop,” Betts said. “Remember, last year I was playing at shortstop so I played pretty well, I didn’t know what I was doing.
Betts has been sidelined once this season due to health issues and twice for this injury. He’s still day to day, but the need each batsman to work well on their upcoming schedule, including facing the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres and the San Francisco Giants.
Betts is expected to return to the lineup for Tuesday’s game against the Mets.
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Photo credit: Jonathan Hui-Immagn Image
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