The Los Angeles Dodgers are 38-25 and are one of the best teams in baseball. However, they seem like they still have not reached their potential.
The Dodgers’ pitching injuries are likely playing a role in some of their struggles, if they can even be called that. However, one of their stars is not having his best season at the plate so far. Mookie Betts is hitting .259 with a .752 OPS and eight home runs. He was asked whether he thinks playing shortstop is hurting his play at the plate.
“No. Last year I think I was about to win MVP,” said Betts to reporters. “Last year I was doing way more work than now. So that’s not the case. There’s no excuses. It’s just a matter of me getting it done.”
Last year, the Dodgers started Betts out as a shortstop, marking the first time in his career that it was supposed to be his primary position. Betts definitely experienced a learning curve and was putting in more work outside of the games to get accustomed to his new position. However, despite putting in more work to get ready, his offense did not falter. He was slashing .304/.405/.488 with 10 home runs. However, he suffered an injury in June that kept him out until August.
When Betts returned, the Dodgers moved him back to right field. However, this season, Betts is once again back at shortstop. His offense is a different story this year, but Betts does not think it has anything to do with changing positions again.
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Even with Betts failing to put up MVP-caliber numbers, the Dodgers are leading the National League West and still look dominant. Freddie Freeman, Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani have all played a role in that. When Betts starts swinging the bat like the player he has proven he is over the course of his career, the Dodgers will get even better.
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