“Mom, we’ve never seen this amount of money” - When Mookie Betts recalled being stumped over by Red Sox's contract offer
Mookie Betts, one of the most formidable players in the MLB, has come a long way. Betts has achieved several accolades, including two World Series victories with the Boston Red Sox and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Behind his achievement lies a great deal of dedication and decisions that have helped him through his career. Betts was raised to understand the importance of setting emotions aside, particularly when it came to business.
"It’s how I was raised to look at the thing, whether it’s buying a building or contract negotiations or whatever it is, you have to take emotions out of it," Betts told WEEI.com in Sept. 2019.
Despite focusing on the business aspect of things, his emotions refused to stay away. The 31-year-old recalled one of his emotional moments when he received his contract offer from the Red Sox.
The Red Sox offered Betts $950,000 to play in 2017 before he won $10.5 million in arbitration. As he negotiated the arrangement with his mother, his emotions rolled back.
"Mom, we’ve never seen this amount of money," Mookie Betts said.
This is when Betts' mother told him to take the emotions out of it. Betts went on to win his first World Series with the Red Sox.
Mookie Betts is unswayed despite recent acquisitions
Mookie Betts has been consistent in his performance with the Dodgers. Since his arrival, he has delivered both offensively and defensively. It turns out that Betts is not too impressed with his team yet, despite new additions like Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
According to Betts, he has played with several talented players, and his only focus is to win the World Series. Bringing the title home will be the only thing that will probably impress the slugger.
“There’s nothing on the baseball field that’s gonna be impressive or I’m gonna be wowed by, outside of holding up a trophy," Betts said via Tyler Kepner of The Athletic.
The only thing that matters to Betts is the Commissioner's Trophy. With that in mind, we can expect the best from the outfielder. The Dodgers are one of the favorites to make it to the World Series this year.