If you’re a fan of Mookie Betts, you’ve probably noticed him flash his signature snarl from time to time. But the Boston Red Sox’s star outfielder didn’t even notice this about himself until recently.
“Nobody ever really said anything about it until, I think, 2014 when I got called up,” Betts told The Athletic. “I got some texts from my fam that was watching the game saying I snarled. That’s when I became aware of it.”
He doesn’t know where it comes from, but Betts has come to embrace the defining facial feature. He even passed the snarl down to his newborn daughter, Kynlee.
“She does it pretty often,” he said. “Maybe she’s concentrating on something, I don’t know.”
Betts’ teammates have been quick to pick up on the quirk. Pitcher David Price said both he and his wife noticed the snarl not long after joining the team.
“I used to (see it) a lot,” Price said. “I feel like my first two years (in Boston), I really, really saw it. Last year, not so much. I haven’t seen it a whole lot this offseason, I don’t feel like, but I used to feel like every time I looked at Mookie, he was doing that.”
“We’ve all tried to imitate it,” Brock Holt said. “But none of us can do it, so it’s his deal.”
So the next time you watch Betts play, see if you can spot it for yourself.
