The Dodgers’ morning workout and B-squad game ended, leaving players to down time in the clubhouse to attend to lunch, treatment, their phone, Ping-Pong games or other diversions. One player remained on a back field, working up a sweat on double play pivots with infield coaches Chris Gutierrez, Dino Ebel and Chris Woodward.
This was no kid trying to make the team. This was one of the five most valuable players in baseball putting in the extra work at a position—second base—he has played only 30 times in his nine-year major league career. And that midday tableau Sunday is why Mookie Betts is so valuable.
Betts is a six-time All-Star, six-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield, a former MVP, a player signed through age 39 under a $365 million contract and who is the best pound-for-pound slugger in 75 years. And yet here he is at age 30 putting in the sweat equity to be a legit infielder and outfielder for Los Angeles.
