Mookie Betts Returned To Fenway Park Last Night And Was Greeted By A Thunderous Applause and Standing Ovation
Boston Herald -Mookie Betts stepped to the plate and tipped his batting helmet to the crowd, acknowledging the raucous ovation he received from the sellout Fenway Park crowd in his first at bat back in nearly four years.
Then, over the next three hours, he and his new Los Angeles Dodgers teammates showed the people of Boston what they’ve been missing.
Betts went 1 for 4 with a double, a walk and two runs scored in his return to Boston, sparking what wound up being a pair of three-run rallies to help the Dodgers charge past the Red Sox for a 7-4 win. He also started at second and, after moving to his more familiar position in right field, caught Connor Wong in no man’s land on the bases to cut short Boston’s best chance to mount a late rally.
What a feel good moment at Fenway last night.
Bittersweet is the adjective that comes to mind even though it was more than that.
Seeing Mookie in Dodger blue, knowing he still belongs in red and white. Patrolling right field, sniping anybody foolish enough to test his arm like Connor Wong found out the hard way tonight-
I was too young to remember the cannon Bo Jackson had. I grew up in awe of how Griffey Jr. played the outfield. Tactically, opting to take a ball on a hop, rather than lay out for it, and gode the runner into trying for an extra base only to be picked off by 5 steps.
I had never seen another defensive outfielder of that caliber until Mookie came along.
Add to it his ferociousness at the plate, and his ability to deliver in the clutch, usually spraying to the opposite field, and he was hard not to fall in love with.
On top of all of that, he loved playing in Boston, loved everything that came along with the territori of it- the hounding media attention, and scrutiny, the overly insane fans, and pressure of playing in a major market where a it was World Series or bust every year.
Which makes it fucking insane, (still), that the Red Sox traded this guy, and gutted their fan base, and clubhouse, in the process.
I think everybody was so shocked when he was unloaded because everybody always thought he’d be one of those guys who was a Red Sock forever.
In just six seasons here was Mookie’s stat line in Boston-
.301/.374/.519
139 HRs
470 RBI
126 SBs
4x All Star
4x Gold Gloves
3x Silver Slugger
2018 MVP
2018 World Series Champ
Crazy.
It was sad to see him win in LA, sad to see him return a visitor tonight, but awesome to see the Fenway faithful show why they’re the classiest fans in baseball by serenading Mookie with a standing ovation like that.
(The haters can suck it- remember this is the same crowd who gave Jeter a standing ovation in his final game at Fenway. Something Yankees fans would never do for a Red Sox player, ever)
He’s one of the greatest baseball players I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, and he deserved to be shown how much the fans in Boston loved and appreciated him.
Well done.
P.a.- The good news for the Red Sox is they got some help around the league, as both Houston and Toronto lost to keep Boston 3.5 games back in the Wild Card standings