Mookie Betts Casually Slipping Into The Shortstop Position Despite Having Not Played It Since High School Is An Insane Accomplishment
The Dodgers' biggest problem right now is that they seem to have too many good players and don't know what to do with them. One of the team's few mysteries is Gavin Lux, who's coming off of a knee injury he sustained in spring training last season. It kind of seems like he's got the defensive yips right now, which would normally be a huge problem for any other team. Still, the Dodgers have just moved him over to second base. Now Mookie Betts, a former MVP and future first ballet Hall of Famer, is just casually slipping into the shortstop position despite having not played the position full-time since he was in high school.
Mookie is a fucking anomaly, dude. The guy was an elite defensive centerfielder for the Red Sox before being moved to right field to make room for Jackie Bradley Jr. in center. He was then acquired by the Dodgers, who moved him all around the diamond, including playing second base, where he's been fantastic defensively. Now, he's asked to be the team's starting shortstop. He'll probably be great there as well.
Mookie Betts strikes me as one of those athletes who just picked baseball. Like, if you wanted to, he could've been an all-pro wide receiver in the NFL or an elite shooting guard in the NBA. The guy was just blessed with physical gifts. We know he could've been a pro bowler. When I say that, I don't mean a football player who went to the Pro Bowl; I mean somebody who bowled for a living.
We see utility players in baseball all the time. Every team has them at this point, but there are few players, especially future Hall of Famers, who, at age 31, would volunteer to move over to a position they have not played in for well over a decade. Alex Rodriguez was a vastly superior defensive shortstop to Derek Jeter when the Yankees acquired him, and yet he had to move to third base so Jeter could remain the team's shortstop. Being able to play multiple positions is already a valuable trait, but being able to play multiple positions at an elite level just shows how much of a rare talent Mookie Betts truly is. God, the Red Sox are stupid for not paying him.