Two years ago this week, Mookie Betts and the Dodgers entered into a committed relationship.
In the uncertain, unsettled early months of the coronavirus pandemic, Betts made a very certain, very settled decision about his future, agreeing to a 12-year, $365 million contract with the Dodgers and signing away most of his working life before ever playing in a game that counted for them.
Only one player will earn more over the life of their current contract (Mike Trout, $426.5 million over 12 years). No Dodger has ever signed for more or for as long. The contract will pay Betts through his age-39 season and continue paying him deferred money into 2044 – a year that seems pulled from a science fiction movie.
Time travel might be possible by 2044. If it is, Betts would go back in time and tell his 2020 self to sign on the dotted line.
“Honestly, I would just tell him to do the same thing,” Betts says now. “I think what we did – me and my representatives, me and my family, the decisions we came up with – I wouldn’t change at all.
“That was kind of like the home run deal for us at the time. If it was a home run deal, you take it. If it wasn’t then I wouldn’t. Play it out and see what happens. I was definitely willing to do that. I was willing to walk away. But they met our home run deal. Now I’m here.”
He is here for a very long time. But long-term contracts like Betts’ seem to come with buyer’s remorse built in – think Albert Pujols’ 10-year deal with the Angels (he was released before it ended) or Robinson Cano’s 10-year deal with the Seattle Mariners (suspended, traded and released before it ended).
For now, though, it is a happy marriage between Betts and the Dodgers, having produced a World Series title in 2020 and an All-Star starting assignment on Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.
“When you invest long term in a player, the most important criteria – especially as you’re getting into the early and mid-30s – is the work ethic,” Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says. “Whenever a player of that caliber commands a long-term deal … their work ethic really matters and how driven they are to be great. We had heard all the reports about Mookie. But living it first hand and seeing him on a daily basis is incredible in terms of the way he prepares on defense, how he prepares in the batter’s box, the way he runs the bases, how attentive he is – just all the little ways that he helps us win a game other than the obvious back of the baseball card.”
Clayton Kershaw is certainly driven to be great. He signed the longest contract of his career in January 2014, a seven-year deal that became an eight-year commitment when he opted out following the 2018 season and signed a new three-year deal. For Kershaw, signing that contract brought with it certain responsibilities.
“A hundred percent,” he says.
“Obviously you did something in the game well enough to get that. You did it so you’ve gotten it. But then after that, it’s like, ‘Man, this team has committed a lot to me’ and there’s that obligation to … you’re not always going to win but there is that obligation to always put your best effort out there and try to do it. That’s how I always looked at it. I’ve had my fair share of failures. But at the end of the day, I could sleep at night knowing I had done everything I could to succeed. I think that’s kind of how you look at it.”
At this point in his career, the 34-year-old Kershaw looks at a mega-deal as “a huge burden.”
“That’s just a long commitment,” he says. “Now (I prefer) the year-to-year feeling of ‘I can be all-in for one year at a time’ which is awesome. And then re-assess.
“Honoring that commitment was real important to me.”
Kershaw clearly gave more thought to it than Betts is willing to admit he has.
“I just try to take it day by day, year by year,” he says. “You don’t want to look too far ahead and forget the moments that you’re in right now.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the most striking thing about watching Betts over the past two years has been not just his awareness of those moments but the people sharing them with him.
“He’s trying to make people around him better,” Roberts says. “That’s one of the things when you sign someone like that – the bet is not always just on the performance every single year of the 12 years. It’s how can he make people around him better? It’s an organization commitment, clearly. I just don’t see a better person for that.”
As the face of a franchise – or, in the case of the star-laden Dodgers, one of the faces of the franchise – Betts sees that as a job requirement.
“Obviously any big contract there’s always pressure to perform,” he says. “But no matter how good or bad I do, I’ve got to go play. So there’s no sense in really thinking about those types of pressures.
“For me, it’s more the responsibility to bring culture, make sure we have good culture – which they already had here. But just to make sure to continue it. Just to make everybody feel welcome, knowing I’m going to be here. Making sure the young guys that come up can feel comfortable … those types of things because not doing that makes it look like you’re standoff-ish and you’re not really part of this. That’s not me.”
For any number of reasons – age and the difference in their home parks, for two – the Dodgers might not get the statistical best of Betts. In his six years with the Boston Red Sox, Betts’ average season featured a .301 average, .893 OPS and 27 home runs. In his first 250 games with the Dodgers, he has hit .271 with an .874 OPS and 59 home runs.
“Maybe. Maybe not. It’s tough to say,” Betts says of matching his Boston numbers, which featured a batting title and MVP award in 2018. “What I did there was pretty incredible, if I take a step back and look back at it. But you never know what’s going to happen. You can’t predict the future. All you can do is go out and play then you take a look back and see if I do or if I don’t. No matter what I say now, you never know what’s going to happen in the future.”
Betts’ present has been “a roller-coaster.” A slow start this season was followed by a torrid May during which he hit .342/.411/.746 with 12 of his 20 home runs. Since then, however, he has slipped backward, hitting .209 with a .645 OPS and spending his days “still trying to figure out this hitting thing.”
Regardless of the individual numbers, Kershaw says there is “a demeanor around” Betts from which the Dodgers benefit.
“For whatever reason, I do think he has that quality about him where you think, ‘Hey, Mookie’s on our team. We’re going to win,’” Kershaw says. “That’s pretty cool.”
