On Thursday, the web handled numerous instances of “Is that really who I think it is?” as Twitter eliminated verification checkmarks for unpaid customers. Yet when baseball followers did a double-take, it wasn’t due to a spam account that regarded suspiciously like Jeff Passan or Ken Rosenthal. Instead, it was due to a shortstop who regarded suspiciously like Mookie Betts.
Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts teased followers earlier this week, revealing that Betts might play shortstop on Wednesday. Instead, it was Luke Williams who took to the sphere at sport time. Fans received their hopes up for Betts the next day, however as soon as once more, it was Williams on the lineup card. Indeed, it wasn’t till the seventh inning of yesterday’s ballgame that Roberts lastly made good on his phrase; he pinch-hit for Williams with Betts, and Betts would keep within the sport at shortstop. Williams might have earned the nickname Captain America for his efficiency with the US Olympic baseball crew, however Betts was the superhero – or ought to I say super-utility participant – everybody needed to see.
Like the hero he’s, Betts raced to the ballpark on Thursday to assist his crew. He had spent the 2 days prior on the paternity record and was pressured to make his personal method to Wrigley Field. A well timed climate delay (maybe the work of his teammate Thor) pushed the sport again by an hour, permitting Betts to reach simply in time. A bit later, and his shortstop debut might need needed to wait.
At lengthy final, Betts entered the sport with the rating tied at two. He knocked a base hit within the seventh, turned a powerful defensive play within the eighth, and made a productive out to advance the profitable run to 3rd base within the ninth. The Dodgers would finally win on a grand slam by rookie James Outman, however Betts was the star of the present.
It’s straightforward to grasp why this second was so thrilling. It’s not so usually {that a} 10-year main league veteran performs shortstop for the primary time after 1,130 profession video games. It’s even much less frequent when that participant is primarily an outfielder (Betts does have 263 large league innings at second base). When he’s additionally a six-time All-Star and former MVP? It’s appointment viewing. In the final 20 years, solely 24 certified hitters over the age of 30 have performed the outfield and shortstop in the identical season. Only three performed the outfield within the majority of their video games: Jermaine Dye in 2005, Chris Taylor in 2021, and Betts to this point in 2023. Dye performed brief for a 3rd of an inning in 2005. He had by no means performed the place earlier than, nor would he ever play it once more. Taylor, whose indirect damage paved the way in which for Betts to play shortstop, was primarily a shortstop when he got here up with the Mariners, however he’s been a super-utility participant since 2017. Dye was by no means actually a shortstop. Taylor has at all times been a shortstop. And neither is identical caliber of participant as Mookie Betts.
So how did Betts truly carry out at his new place? He solely had one ball hit in his path, giving us little information for analysis. At the identical time, that one ball changed into a highlight-reel play, so it’s tempting to christen Betts the following nice Dodgers shortstop. (Side notice: How many different groups might lose Trea Turner and Gavin Lux within the span of six months and nonetheless have an MVP taking part in shortstop? That’s the Dodgers for you.) In the underside of the eighth, Patrick Wisdom chopped a high-bouncing grounder up the center. Betts got here operating in, and in a single fluid movement, he grabbed the ball, stepped on second, and made the throw in time to nail Wisdom at first:
Wisdom wasn’t precisely barreling down the road, nevertheless it was nonetheless a difficult play. Miguel Vargas misinterpret the scenario and located himself too removed from second to assist Betts flip two. Without skipping a beat, Betts ran to the bottom himself. His momentum pressured him to take a leap in order to keep away from crashing right into a sliding Cody Bellinger, and his throw from mid-air nonetheless managed to beat Wisdom to the primary base bag. The superhero comparability is apt certainly.
As spectacular as this was, it wasn’t a standard play; even so far as tough performs go, it was uncommon. In different phrases, it doesn’t reveal a lot about Betts’ day-to-day shortstop capabilities. We received’t know the way effectively he can deal with the place till we get a greater sense of his instincts and his vary on quite a lot of balls in play. It’s good to see that his phenomenal athleticism can translate to the infield, however then once more, we already knew it might from his expertise at second base:
Betts didn’t make one other play at brief yesterday, however he was tangentially concerned on a groundball to 3rd base. It was a bullet off the bat from Nico Hoerner, and Betts did his job by shifting to cowl Max Muncy at third:
From this further little bit of proof, I’d argue Betts must work on his instincts at brief. His soar towards third was delayed, and he additionally pulled up a bit too quickly. The ball was in Muncy’s glove by the point Betts landed a step in the suitable path. At the identical time, the novice shortstop slowed down earlier than his teammate had full management of the ball. I’m conscious I’m nitpicking right here, however a wonderful shortstop would have reacted a cut up second sooner and brought one other step or two towards third base.
All fault-finding apart, Betts doesn’t truly must be a wonderful defensive shortstop. He doesn’t even must be good. As enjoyable as it might be to look at him grasp a brand new place, that’s not what the Dodgers are asking him to do. Instead, they simply want him to be ok that he’s a greater choice than Luke Williams and his .237/.295/.310 profession slashline. With no disrespect to Williams, that shouldn’t be a troublesome activity. Betts has a bat that may play at any place, and primarily based on his restricted expertise at second base, we all know he received’t be a catastrophe within the infield:
Last season, I wrote about why Betts would have been my alternative for NL MVP. My argument was that he did completely every part effectively; there wasn’t a single gap in his sport, whether or not or not it’s on the plate, within the subject, or on the bases. This yr, which may not be the case. If Betts continues to play brief whereas Miguel Rojas is injured, his defensive stats, and due to this fact his total WAR, will seemingly undergo. Even so, Betts continues to show why he’s one of the vital precious gamers in baseball. No matter how he performs at shortstop, he’ll be doing his half to assist his crew win ballgames. As an added bonus, he’s making the sport extra enjoyable for everybody watching, too.
Content Source: blogs.fangraphs.com