Mookie Betts is going to hear a lot of love this weekend at Fenway Park
BOSTON -- Usually, a Boston sports fan cheering for anyone in a Los Angeles uniform is grounds for having their fan card revoked. There will be one giant exception to that rule this weekend at Fenway Park.
That will be when Markus Lynn Betts steps to the plate Friday night (weather permitting) for his first at-bat at Fenway Park as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston fans have waited four long years to remind the man named Mookie how much he was loved in this city. In turn, they'll let the organization know just how miffed they remain that Mookie was traded away in the first place.
The first ovation will come when Betts leads things off for the Dodgers Friday night. It will be loud and long, a preview of what's to come any time he steps to the plate or makes a play in the field over the weekend.
Fenway Park will be full of love for the guy who did it all during his six years with the Red Sox. He nearly won AL MVP in 2016, and then brought home the award in 2018 -- the same season he helped the Red Sox win a World Series title. Whether he was coming through with timely hits or electric plays in the outfield, Mookie dazzled Red Sox fans and did it with a giant smile on his face.
He should have been a lifelong member of the Red Sox, but ownership opted for a reboot when 2020 arrived. Chaim Bloom's first order of business from John Henry was to trade away Betts to help rebuild the farm system. Betts said earlier this week that he would have loved to have played his entire career in Boston.
It never should have gotten to the point where the Red Sox "had" to trade Betts, but they also didn't want to pony up and pay him. Now Betts is putting together MVP seasons and winning titles on the other side of the country, while the Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East in two of the last three seasons. When Boston fans serenade Mookie with love this weekend, they'll also be re-voicing their displeasure with the front office.
And Mookie is probably going to put on a show, as he returns to Boston on a scorching hot tear. Betts is hitting .436 with seven homers, eight doubles, and 21 RBI over 21 games in August, with a .310/.405/.605 slash line for the season. With 34 homers, 89 RBI and 105 runs scored, Betts is authoring another MVP season for the first-place Dodgers.
This weekend, Betts will own Fenway Park once again. Boston fans will get a chance to thank him one more time for six great seasons and the 2018 World Series title, and remind those in charge how much it stings to see Betts do his thing in Dodger blue.
