10 Things You Didn't Know About Mookie Betts
BOSTON (CBS) - The 21-year old blossoming center fielder has begun his first full year with the Red Sox, and while we all know he can blast it out of the park or make a leaping catch at the wall, here are 10 things you didn't know about Mookie Betts.
1. Betts had a .509 batting average his senior year of high school.
Yes, you read that right. And that wasn't as good as Bett's junior year when he batted .549 and stole 24 bases.
2. Baseball wasn't the only sport Mookie excelled in during high school.
He was also a great basketball player. Betts was named MVP of the District 12-AAA league his senior season and averaged 14.1 points, 9 assists, 4 rebounds and 3 steals per game for John Overton High School in Nashville, Tennessee.
3. Betts was ten pins away from a perfect game in bowling.
Betts was named the Tennessee boys Bowler of the Year in 2010 with a high score of 290.
"That's a family thing," Betts told WBZ-TV's Dan Roche earlier this spring about his love for bowling. "My mom, dad, aunts and uncles, we all go bowling in the offseason. It's a family thing that has stuck around, and I have it in my back pocket."
4. Betts was headed to the University of Tennessee on a baseball scholarship, but never played a game for them.
He was drafted by the Red Sox in the fifth round of the 2011 MLB draft, and played for them instead.
5. Terry Shumpert is Mookie Betts' uncle.
Shumpert spent 14 years playing in the big leagues for the Royals, Red Sox, Cubs, Padres, Rockies, Dodgers and Devil Rays. Baseball is in Mookie's blood.
6. Betts once had a 19-game hit streak in the minors.
In 2013 for the Greenville Drive, Betts had 19 straight games with a hit en route to the South Atlantic League All-Star game.
7. His parents named him 'Mookie' for a specific reason.
Mookie Betts' real name is Markus Lynn Betts. His mother chose those names because she wanted his initials to be 'MLB.'
8. Less than a year before jumping to the majors, Betts collected impressive accolades in his 2013 minor league season.
Betts was named Offensive Player of the Year and Breakout Player of the Year in the Boston minor league system in 2013 after batting .314 with 38 steals that summer.
9. Betts only played 23 games for the Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox.
He reached base every single game.
10. Betts is engaged to his fiancee Brianna Hammonds.
The two have been together since middle school.
