Betts takes leading role
Spotlight shines on Sox star
On the night before his first World Series game, Mookie Betts wore a Bugs Bunny hat, a grey cardigan and his signature gold chain to the Garden to watch the Celtics. He was dressed for Hollywood, and of course the cameras found him. Behind him, the crowd chanted, “M-V-P.” “Just relaxing,” Betts said from the Garden during a TV interview with NBC Sports Boston on Monday night. “Pretty much after (the World Series starts) I won’t be doing anything, so enjoy these couple days and come support a team here at home.” The spotlight is always his, even though he has never asked for it. He’s often shied away from it. But his performance on the baseball field over the last five years has been too loud. There’s no way he can go into hiding now. He might as well enjoy the perks. And so he goes to Celtics games, does the TV interviews at the Garden, handles a dozen or so more the next day, one after another, and more after Game 2. He smiles and gives simple answers. He’s polite and kind. He’s calm and collected. He’s been there before. There’s nothing boisterous and there’s nothing new about Mookie Betts, and the Red Sox have grown to love him for it. In their eyes, he’s one of the true leaders of perhaps the best team in franchise history, one that will take the field at Dodger Stadium tonight two wins shy of another World Series title. But he leads in a softer, quieter and perhaps more humble way than any who have come before him. “Mookie is exactly the same as when I met him,” said starter Rick Porcello. “He’s the exact same guy. He’s always been really mature and handled himself well. He hasn’t had to do too much developing. He’s had it from the get-go.” Whatever “it” is, it’s unique to Betts, who hardly ever has a bad day on the baseball field, or the bowling alley, or the golf course, or just about anywhere competition takes place. “He really doesn’t understand how good he is at most stuff,” said Joe Kelly. “You guys see him bowl, he bowls 300 and still doesn’t think he’s any good. He’ll go out there and shoot a 77 in golf without playing in two years and without understanding how good he is. He’s one of those guys. And he’s smart, too, which is awesome. He has pretty much everything going for him. Whatever he picks up and puts his mind to, there’s no doubt in my mind he’d be the best at it.” His talent is unique. So, too, is his self-awareness. “I think he still doesn’t know how good he is,” said Blake Swihart, who was drafted four rounds before Betts in 2011 and came through the system with him. “He’s very humble in that aspect. He knows what he’s capable of doing, but there are days he really doesn’t think he’s very good. “A lot of guys give him a hard time about that, like, ‘C’mon dude.’ But he truly believes he’s got a lot of work to do.” On the field, Betts’ desire to get better has been astounding to some of his teammates, who already think he’s the best player in the game. Even the tiny holes have become strengths. After he finished the 2015 season with a .341 on-base percentage, former interim manager Torey Lovullo challenged him to get his OBP up. He’s had a .379 OBP in three years since. When he began playing the outfield, his arm strength often was questioned, just as it was when he moved from shortstop to second base shortly after being drafted. He spent an entire offseason building strength in his arm and working on throws. Now he has one of the best arms in the big leagues and should win his third straight Gold Glove award. But because he’s quiet, there’s often been this question about whether or not he’s a leader. When the Red Sox were bounced in the first round of the postseason in 2016 and 2017, everybody outside the locker room was wondering where the leaders were. Who was going to step up and bring the best out of this team? Alex Cora gets a lot of credit for doing that this year. And it’s helped Betts grow further into understanding his roll. “It’s the way he works,” Dustin Pedroia said. “He works hard. He takes a lot of swings, a lot of groundballs, a lot of flyballs. He works. And every day that’s his mindset. “I can tell toward the end of the year this year that his mindset is changing when he walks onto the field. He’s growing up, and in a good way. Guys know that he’s our leadoff hitter. The first pitch of the game, he’s dictating the way we’re going to play. He understands that. And how many wins we have, he’s obviously sending the message.” Still quiet and undoubtedly soft spoken, Betts said it’s taken him a lot of work to get as loud as he’s become. Quiet leaders in baseball can be vital, even if they’re hard to identify from the outside. “I think there’s a space for (quiet leaders),” Betts said. “Pedey definitely gets on me about being more vocal. I’m not a huge vocal guy. I like leading by example. But I’m working on it.” Betts may still dislike the cameras, but he knows it’s his job to stand in front of them on most nights. Whether the Red Sox win or lose, fans usually want to hear from the team’s best player. Betts quickly become the face of the Red Sox franchise. “To me, his leadership by example speaks louder than everything else because that’s something we all follow,” Porcello said. “We all know how talented he is. When Mookie goes, we go. And those guys in the other dugout, when they see Mookie Betts rip a single in his first at-bat, or make a diving catch, or throw a guy out at second base, they feel that. That’s leadership right there without having to vocalize it or be rah-rah or anything like that. He’s going out there and getting it done on the field.” This fall, Betts is likely on the verge of winning his first MVP award, and maybe his first World Series. All the accolades haven’t changed him much. “Whatever the team takes, whatever it needs, I try to fill that role,” he said.