How Red Sox Years Started Emotional Connection Between NL West Rivals

While the Boston Red Sox may not be in the World Series, the team served as the roots of a key relationship on display this October.

Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo led the team to an improbable run to its first National League pennant in 22 years. Along the way, they defeated star Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

The two spent time together with the Red Sox in the mid-2010s, with Betts as an emerging young talent and Lovullo serving as the club’s bench coach. In Boston, they each found an incredible appreciation for each other. Betts and Lovullo reflected on their relationship in an MLB on FOX feature that aired Tuesday night before Game 4 of the World Series.

“You were my friend,” Betts told his former bench coach. “More than a friend. Like a therapist and a father figure. That really changed my whole career from the very beginning.”

Just as Lovullo was there for Betts, it was Betts who Lovullo credited for his growth as a leader and for building philosophies for his team, which grew when he briefly served as the interim manager of the Red Sox before taking the Arizona job.

“I love you, Mookie,” Lovullo told Betts. “You were so easy to talk to. It was aligning with who I was at my core. Even to this day, it’s what connects us. As you were starting to be vulnerable, I became vulnerable. That’s what formed our bond.”

Both men have left Boston for the West Coast but maintain their belief in the impact from their time with the Red Sox.

“Part of my heart was still in Boston,” Lovullo admitted.

Years removed from their time with the Red Sox, Betts and Lovullo made a lifelong friendship in Boston.