Ex-Red Sox Mookie Betts Addresses Home Run Derby Struggles

It’s hard to imagine Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts not excelling at something athletically, but that was the case during Monday night’s Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park.

Betts, who didn’t have an immense amount of confidence entering the competition, quickly understood the struggles of keeping up with the fast-paced race of launching moonshots over the outfield wall in Seattle. The 30-year-old veteran finished his first-round showing with 11 homers, the fewest hit by anyone in the derby.

“Twenty-six was reachable,” Betts said, according to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “But, it’s reachable for someone who knows how to hit home runs.”

Betts added: “I went through like three different swings in the middle of it. I was trying. But I just kept hitting line drives.”

Undersized at 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds, Betts dismissed any notion that fatigue played a factor in his underwhelming performance, which fell in line with the 17-1 odds to win the contest given to the former league MVP beforehand by FanDuel Sportsbook.

Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. outlasted everyone, defeating Betts in the first round en route to the 2023 Home Run Derby title.

Despite failing to overcome some of baseball’s brightest power hitters, Betts still has plenty to look forward to down the line this season. The seven-time All-Star has already belted 26 homers with the Dodgers, 10 shy of setting a new career high. Plus, Betts also leads the National League in slugging percentage (.586) while Los Angeles leads the National League West after the first half of play.

All in all, Betts chalked it up to a humbling experience, essentially shutting the door on participating ever again.

“The whole thing is super cool,” Betts explained. “It got my juices flowing a little bit. That’s always fun. The main thing was that this is not for me. That’s the best takeaway I got.”