“Keep grinding!” - Mookie Betts sends powerful reminder to self amid frustrating slump in bid to turn things around

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is in the midst of his worst offensive season, slashing only .241/.311/.377 (.688 OPS, 93 wRC+) in the first 90 games. There has been a noticeable dip in his exit velocity (just 88.5 mph), while his barrel rate is also down 6%. Moreover, since mid-June, Betts has hit just .195.

On Thursday against the Cincinnati Reds, he went hitless in five plate appearances, including one strikeout as the Dodgers lost 5-2.

Despite the slump, Betts seems motivated to turn things around. On Thursday, he posed a video of himself where he was seen doing it all, from stealing bases to hitting clutch home runs and making exceptional plays on defense. In the caption, Betts wrote:

"Stay patient, stay steady, keep grinding!"

It has been no typical season for the Betts. He started with a stomach illness, missing the Tokyo Series against the San Diego Padres. The same illness led to a significant weight drop as the Dodgers star lost nearly 18 pounds.

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Mookie Betts takes the blame on himself, says there's no outside factor for his slump

Last week, Mookie Betts addressed his ongoing slump, which has seen him hit only 11 home runs on the season.

While the star shortstop could have simply blamed his illness and other mechanical issues for why he hasn't been playing on an elite level, Betts chose not to.

"There's no outside reasons," he said, "outside of me ... Things that I used to do that would get me back on track just don't work anymore, so that's kind of what makes it hard. Pulling from new experiences, new cues, new things. Trying to find the right answers."

The Dodgers have been in support of Betts throughout his slump. Manager Dave Roberts tried addressing the issue by elevating Betts to the leadoff spot in the lineup again. He chose to do so to help Betts get back to his old form, where he thrived from the leadoff position.

"Versus left, versus right, for the time being I'm going to hit Mookie at the top," Roberts said. "Hopefully it sort of lends itself to the mindset of just get on base and build innings."

Given the high bar Mookie Betts sets himself to, it's only a matter of time before he starts clicking.

Edited by Bhargav