MLB
So if you have watched baseball this year, you know that Mookie Betts has been on another level this season. He has an absurd .342 average, along with 70 RBI’s and 29 homers as the Red Sox leadoff man. He recently also hit for the cycle vs the Blue Jays, but what makes him so good?
This winter, I got the chance to go to the 2018 Cubs Convention. I got the chance to meet Cubs hitting coach Chili Davis. He had just come from the Red Sox, and there was one question that I wanted to ask Chili. “How did you make Mookie Betts into an elite hitter.” This is what Chili had to say.
“I didn’t make him an elite hitter, he already was an elite hitter.
The stuff he has is the stuff that you can’t teach.”
– Chili Davis
So Chili says Mookie is just a naturally gifted hitter, which doesn’t come around that often. But what is Chili talking about?
The Secret
I think that I have found out what makes Mookie Betts so good. It is the fact that he is such a good contact hitter, and that he can use the whole field. Let me explain: contact hitters are in less amount that power hitters. Mookie Betts can hit for contact, as seen by the .342 average, but he also can rack up the extra-base hits, as seen by his cycle earlier this year, but he can also use the whole field, so defenses can’t put the shift on him. This is more valuable than you think. Hitters like Joey Gallo, only hit to one part of the field, so the defense just goes there. However with Mookie Betts, he uses the whole field, so fielders have to spread out, so there are more spots for hits to drop in. But don’t forget about the power, he also can hit the ball very far. If I was voting for the MVP, I’m taking Mookie Betts. His only weakness in the MVP race, is actually his teammate, J.D. Martinez. If you ask me, that’s a good problem to have.
