Donald Trump gives his verdict on Red Sox trading Mookie Betts to Dodgers in 2020
Mookie Betts and several Los Angeles Dodgers stars visited the White House on Monday to celebrate their World Series success last year with President Donald Trump.
Trump praised Betts and Ohtani for their performances in the 2024 season. Trump also lauded Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, calling him one of the greatest in franchise history.
While praising Betts, Trump recalled watching the All-Star slugger for his former team, the Boston Red Sox and gave his verdict on his infamous trade to the Dodgers.
He said after exchanging a handshake with the Dodgers star:
"Mookie. That guy can play, can't he? I mean, unbelievable. I don't want to say I watched him on Boston, but I did. I didn't think that was a particularly good trade when they made it, and I happened to be right."
Mookie Betts made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2014 and helped the team to World Series success in his AL MVP-winning season in 2018. However, Boston traded Betts, thought to be a franchise cornerstone at the time, to the Dodgers in February 2020, in one of the most eye-raising deals in recent history.
Mookie Betts reveals his mistake after skipping the White House visit in 2018
Incidentally, Donald Trump was in his first term when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2018. However, Betts skipped the White House visit that year.
“Me not being there for them at that time was very selfish. Very selfish,” Betts told reporters earlier this month. “I would not make that mistake again.”
Following their visit to the White House, the Dodgers started a three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Before the game, the three-time World Series winner shared his feelings on the visit.
"These are the stories we'll get to tell when we're done playing," Mookie Betts said. "Years from now, we can call each other, see each other in random places, and talk about stuff like this. These are memories we're making, we've made — and hopefully, we can make some more. Like I said, these are essentially the people we do life with."
The series opener against the Nationals ended in disappointment as the defending World Series winners were defeated 6-4 on Monday night. This is the second consecutive defeat and a third in four games for the NL West team, dropping their season record to 9-3.