Mookie Betts wins second World Series with Dodgers, reminding Red Sox fans what could have been
BOSTON -- Mookie Betts is a World Series champion for the third time in his career, leading the Dodgers to their second title since he arrived in Los Angeles five years ago. While Bostonians should celebrate Betts and the Dodgers beating the Yankees in glorious fashion, it should serve as a reminder that Red Sox fans should never forgive ownership for trading away a homegrown superstar.
Betts had his fingerprints all over Los Angeles' title-clinching win inside Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. It was his infield single in the fifth inning -- plus some extreme laziness from Yankees starter Gerrit Cole -- that plated the first run in the Dodgers' five-run rally. In the eighth, he hit the sac fly that scored the go-ahead, game-winning run for Los Angeles.
And who can forget how he masterfully handled the fan interference episode on Tuesday night? Betts remained calm and cool while a pair of Yankees fans tried to rip the ball from his glove in the right field stands. No matter the situation, Betts is going to keep his composure. He is exactly the kind of player you want as the face of your franchise.
Betts could still be that in Boston. But ownership wasn't willing to pony up some cash and traded him away in 2020 for practically nothing. It was unforgivable then, and remains unforgivable now.
Mookie Betts could still be the face of the Red Sox
Betts won his first World Series as part of the historic Red Sox team in 2018, which beat the Dodgers in five games in the Fall Classic. He also collected AL MVP and his fourth straight All-Star nod that season, which should have been the start of something incredible for Betts in Boston.
Instead, he was traded 16 months later. Why? The Red Sox didn't want to pony up the massive contract it would take to sign a massive talent like Betts. He eventually inked a 12-year, $365 million extension with Los Angeles, and went on to win a World Series in his first season in Dodger blue.
In return for Betts, the Red Sox got Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong, and Jeter Downs. That's all they got for Betts, because the Dodgers also picked up half of David Price's remaining $96 million as part of the trade. It was always about the money.
The books were reset in Boston and the Red Sox did make a run to the ALCS in 2021 in the aftermath of the trade. But outside of that season, it hasn't been pretty. Verdugo had some nice ups during his time in Boston, but he also had some extreme lows. The Red Sox got sick of his act and traded him to the Yankees last offseason. (Verdugo was the final out for the Yankees on Wednesday night.)
Downs was seen as the centerpiece of the trade, but he played just 14 games for the Red Sox and was DFA'd in 2022. He's now playing in Japan.
Connor Wong has been a solid backstop for Boston, but if that's all the Red Sox have to show for trading away Mookie Betts, it highlights how big of a failure it was by the Red Sox. Somehow, Chaim Bloom sent Boston's best player to the Dodgers and didn't get a pitching prospect in return.
All it would have taken to keep Betts was a chunk of money. Red Sox ownership had it then, and they have it now. But they weren't interested in signing a future Hall of Famer who was the perfect face of their franchise.
It's a move they're still paying for, just not in the way they would have hoped.
Mookie Betts, Red Sox since the trade
Trading away Betts was supposed to set up some big spending winters for the Red Sox. We're still waiting for that to happen.
Since trading Betts, the Red Sox have finished in the basement of the AL East three times. The team's .500 finish last season was seen as major progress after back-to-back 78-win campaigns. Boston has seen postseason baseball just once since Betts' departure, and are just 353-355 overall since 2000.
Meanwhile, Betts continues to succeed and thrive in Los Angeles. He's been an All-Star in each of the last four seasons. He won two more Gold Gloves and three more Silver Sluggers. He's finished as the runner-up for NL MVP twice.
And on Wednesday night, he won his second ring since the Red Sox traded him away. It's easy to root for a guy like Mookie Betts and celebrate his success, even if he's no longer in your hometown team's uniform.
But with that comes feelings of disappointment and anger, as Boston fans wonder what could have been had the Red Sox been the Red Sox and signed a special, homegrown talent. Those feelings should never leave Boston fans when watching Mookie's success from afar.