2023-06-30 09:50:09
DENVER — Now that Mookie Betts has been officially named All-Star Game holder — along with teammates Freddie Freeman and JD Martinez — seven-time All-Star Betts has committed to participate in his first T-Mobile Home Run Derby on July 10 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Betts joined Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez as the three players who have committed so far to this year’s event.
“You know, the wife. She told me, ‘You’ve got to do it,’” Betts said Thursday at Coors Field with a laugh. “It’s the last thing I haven’t done, so I’m going to do it. Have fun with it, and we’ll see what happens.”
In the past, Betts has been opposed to entering the Derby because of the amount of swings it requires. But at 30, Betts knows he has to start taking advantage of opportunities while he can.
Betts has accomplished just regarding everything in the big leagues, from winning the 2018 AL MVP award to making seven All-Star Games to winning two World Series rings. Now, he will see action in the Derby for the first time.
Betts’ goal during the event? Have fun…and, as his mother, Diana, told her on the phone when she brought up the idea, not finish last.
“I’m 5 foot 9 (1.70 meters) and I weigh 170 pounds (70 kilos),” Betts recalled. “I don’t think a lot of guys my size win the Home Run Derby. When I told my mother regarding it, she was not very amused. She told me, ‘I didn’t raise you to come in last, so now the goal is not to finish last’… I don’t think she’d really like to see her son lose.”
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