David Ortiz says Red Sox traded perfect franchise player in Betts
Mookie Betts had a homecoming of sorts, returning to Boston’s Fenway Park for the first time since the huge trade that landed him with the Los Angeles Dodgers after the 2019 season.
The two teams meet at a time when their franchises are moving in opposite directions. The Red Sox are sliding down the American League East standings and staring at a long offseason, while Betts is once again in serious consideration for NL MVP after a dominant August in which he won National League Player of the month while becoming the third person since 1900 to hit .450, have 50 hits, and have 10 Bro bombs.
Given the current status of the two parties in question, the Boston fanbase had no choice but to wonder if their team could be in the middle of a dynasty if Betts remained in Boston.
Something that Mookie didn’t have a problem doing if Boston had “played ball.”
“Even though I wasn’t really ready for (the trade to the Dodgers)—I know people don’t believe me but I wanted to stay in Boston my whole career,” Betts told former teammate Brock Holt during his appearance via MassLive. “That was my life. I knew everybody there. It was a short flight to Nashville. It was perfect.”
Big Papi lost some love for Boston when they traded Mookie
David “Big Papi” Ortiz was never a guy who kept his opinion quiet about baseball discussions, and his thoughts about Betts resonated during the series last week.
When Ortiz played with Betts, closing out the last two and a half seasons of his career, he knew back then that our MLBbro was not just an ordinary star for the era. He was a keeper—a franchise cornerstone that you simply didn’t trade away.
During his appearance on Audacy’s podcast, “Baseball Isn’t Boring,” last weekend, Ortiz shared his thoughts about Boston letting Betts go and gave the former Red Sox star one of the greatest compliments a Hall of Famer can give to a fellow player.
“I think that the minute he went to the Dodgers, my emotions shifted a little bit because that guy, he was the perfect franchise boy for an organization like this one,” Ortiz said. “Mookie has the personality—I’m not going to even talk about the player because that’s off the charts – and he’s young, very mature. He’s the full package. He’s the full package.”
Our MLBbro put together a résumé to back up Ortiz’s statements. In six years in Boston, Betts hit over .300 while Bro Bombing 139 times and driving in 470 runs in 794 games. He collected the AL MVP during the Red Sox World Series championship run in 2018.
Not long after, Betts was traded for reportedly “financial reasons,” which Ortiz understood. “We know it was a mistake. We know. We know because numbers don’t lie. Numbers don’t lie,” Ortiz said. “But that happens. This type of mistake happens sometimes and there’s not much you can do about it.”
Despite the Betts trade to the West Coast, Ortiz says he’s still close with the MLBbro.
“Mookie Betts is like my baby brother,” Ortiz said. “We always stay in touch. We always communicate. He’s too smart, because he’s always on the search and smart baseball players, that’s what they do because this game every day has something to show you. There’s something to learn every day.”
To begin the month of September, Betts was in the top 10 in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.410), OPS (1.021), hits (156), home runs (36), doubles (36), RBI (94), and runs scored (114). He’s also played second base and shortstop, displaying his unrivaled versatility.
The post David Ortiz says Red Sox traded perfect franchise player in Betts appeared first on New York Amsterdam News.