“I had the lowest in the league, it was really embarrassing” - When Mookie Betts had the worst slump in his career with the Red Sox
Mookie Betts got his start in the big leagues after the Boston Red Sox drafted him in the fifth round of the 2011 draft. He originally committed to play baseball at the University of Tennessee but could not pass up the $750,000 contract with Boston.
He held his own during rookie ball, playing a game with the GCL Red Sox for a game. The following season, he played in the New York-Penn League and was a regular.
Unfortunately, he faced a huge hurdle during the 2013 season in the Single-A South Atlantic League. He went on a 23-game stretch holding the worst batting average in the entire league, which affected him mentally, via The Providence Journal's Tim Britton.
"It's one thing to have the lowest batting average on your team, but I had the lowest in the league, it was really embarrassing," Betts said.
Betts started the 2013 season with just 11 hits, four of which were for extra bases in 76 at-bats. However, he still got on base at a decent clip with his eye on the plate.
"I didn't really do a lot of swinging. I took a whole lot of pitches that I could have hit. In advantage counts, I was too passive. At 2-0 and 3-1, I wasn't ready to hit. In 3-1, I would just take to 3-2 everytime," Betts said.
Mookie Betts has learned to look back and laugh at his previous mistakes
Mookie Betts stopped being so laid back at the plate and decided to buckle down. He began to increase his strike zone, not letting pitchers even up the count, and he started to take off.
This led to Betts doing a complete 180 at the plate. He went on a 19-game hitting streak after that, resulting in the Red Sox calling him up to High-A.
While he endured a tough stretch, it is something that he can look back on and laugh at. However, at the time, it certainly was no laughing matter.
"I guess I can probably look back and laught at it. At the time, it was rough. It shakes your confidence," Betts said.
That is the thing about baseball. You can fail 70% of the time at the plate as a hitter and still be regarded as great. It is all about keeping a level head between the highs and lows.