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The Los Angeles Dodgers followed up their latest World Series championship with some major All-Star additions. But one of their longest-standing perennial All-Stars has already made up his mind about the Midsummer Classic.
After earning All-Star nods across eight of the last nine seasons, to go along with six Gold Glove Awards, seven Silver Slugger Awards and a Most Valuable Player Award in that span, Dodgers infielder Mookie Betts has plenty of hardware for his mantle.
But after he participated in the 2023 Home Run Derby, it seems like there is one baseball trophy he won’t be able to get his hands on.
He was eliminated in the first round of that contest, logging just 11 homers, the fewest of any competitor. And after that showing, it seems he has sworn off the competition for good.
“Would I want to do the home run derby again? No, absolutely not,” Betts said during a recent episode of his podcast “On Base.” “I did it that one time… it was a terrible idea.”
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Though Betts is a prolific hitter, he’s not as well known for posting big power numbers as he is for making contact. Across 12 big-league seasons, he owns a .293/.372/.521 slash line and hit just 19 homers in 2024.
Though he’s still a remarkable slugger by virtually every measure, his ability to keep up with the likes of Vladimir Guerrero Jr. or Pete Alonso might be in question.
Betts added that, without maximum effort, he can’t lift a ball out of the outfield. And giving it that much effort in every swing throughout a derby wouldn’t be sustainable.
“If I don’t swing at 95% every time, it is not going over the fence,” he said. “I do not hit home runs in (batting practice).”
Peter Chawaga is a veteran journalist covering Major League Baseball for The Sporting News. His MLB reporting has included feature interviews with commissioner Rob Manfred and Hall of Fame slugger David Ortiz, salary analysis, player rankings and more. He has covered baseball for Forbes, Yardbarker, Pitcher List, Athlon and other outlets.
With over ten years of newsroom experience, he has previously covered finance, technology, arts, and culture for newspapers, magazines, and websites nationwide. He graduated from Wake Forest University with a degree in English and journalism.
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