Mookie Betts’ unheard of baseball transformation isn’t getting enough credit

LOS ANGELES — Future Hall of Famer Mookie Betts’ transformation from baseball’s best right fielder to its best shortstop isn’t getting the attention it deserves. No one else has ever done it, and no one else will ever do it.

Maybe the transition isn’t drawing fair notice because everyone already knows Betts can do anything. As Clayton Kershaw pointed out, Betts is expert at bowling, pingpong and just about everything else he tries.

The six-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield already received the Fielding Bible honor as the game’s best shortstop, and he should get the Gold Glove, which would mean joining Darin Erstad as the only other player to win Gold Gloves in the outfield and infield. But Erstad did it at first base, which obviously isn’t the same.

Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws to first base for an out against the Toronto Blue Jays during the fourth inning in game two of the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on October 25, 2025 Getty Images

Three superstar players accomplished amazing things this year, Betts among them: