The Red Sox and Dodgers will begin a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Friday, with both clubhouses housing franchise icons... for the other team.
Mookie Betts made his name in Boston, helping the storied franchise win a World Series while piling up records and accomplishments across a relatively short span. Kenley Jansen will go down as one of Los Angeles' all-time best, holding the franchise record for saves and earning a World Series ring of his own with the Dodgers.
Betts is now in LA, wearing that crispy blue hat, while Jansen is in Boston wearing red socks, so what better time to discuss the differences in each fan base than Friday?
"I would say the biggest difference for me, there are Lakers fans that might not be Dodger fans, Dodgers fans that might not be Lakers fans, that may not be Rams fans, that might be Chargers fans," Betts said, hosting Jansen on his "On Base with Mookie Betts" podcast. "... In Boston, you're a Celtics fan, you're a Patriots fan, you're a Red Sox fan and you're a Bruins fan."
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Jansen agreed with the sentiments, finishing Betts' sentence for him.
"I say, it's more of a sports town," Jansen said.
Betts will not appear in the series against the Red Sox, having suffered a fracture in his hand after being hit by a pitch in June. Jansen will pitch, should the series call for him, making just his second appearance at Dodger Stadium as a visitor.
Betts would go on to argue that LA had better food, but there's at least one win for Boston heading into the weekend set out on Chavez Ravine.
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Featured image via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images