SEATTLE -- When Mookie Betts told his mother, Diana, that he was participating in this year’s T-Mobile Home Run Derby, she made sure to let him know she was skeptical about how he'd fare against some of the league's most premier power hitters. Diana, a competitor just as fierce as her son, made sure to tell Betts to not finish in last place.
Unfortunately for Betts, it was yet another reminder that a mother’s intuition is never wrong. Betts finished with just 11 home runs in a first-round matchup with Toronto's Vladimir Guerrero Jr., bowing out early on Monday at T-Mobile Park.
“She didn’t say, 'I told you so,'” Betts said when asked if he talked to his mother after his round. “I enjoyed the whole thing. It was super cool. It got my juices flowing a little bit, which is always fun. But outside of that, man, it’s that this is not for me. That’s the big takeaway I got.”?
Coming into the event, Betts knew he was a longshot to win. He doesn’t usually hit home runs during batting practice throughout the regular season. On Monday, he got off to a slow start in the Derby as he tried to find a swing that could help him elevate the ball more consistently.
Outside of a short-lived rhythm in the middle of his round, Betts -- a line-drive hitter -- couldn't find a consistent stroke to lean on. With Guerrero hitting 26 homers -- equaling Betts’ first-half total in the 2023 season -- Betts knew his chances were pretty slim. It proved a teaser of what was to come later in the night, as Guerrero became the first Blue Jay to win the Home Run Derby in the franchise's history after outlasting the Rays' Randy Arozarena in the final round.
“26 home runs is reachable,” Betts said. “But it’s reachable for someone who knows how to hit home runs. After about the fifth swing, I knew it was over. I couldn’t get it up in the air. But it was a fun experience.”
During Betts’ three-minute round, he was the only participant to not call a timeout. Usually, hitters call a 45-second timeout midway through the round. Why didn’t he do the same?
“It wouldn’t have helped,” Betts said with a smile.
There was an amusing moment between Betts' two swinging sessions when he had a quick pep talk with teammate J.D. Martinez. While mic'd, Martinez was asked by the broadcast booth what Betts needed to do to get back in the game. Martinez -- no stranger to home run prowess himself -- responded simply, "He's got to pull the ball. He's got to hit it in the air to left."
Betts, smiling, replied, "I don't know how!"
“The act of trying to hit a home run ... I know people say, ‘You have 26 home runs,' but whatever. I don’t know how to do it,” Betts laughed. “I just learned that now. I crossed it off my bucket list and I don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
Like Betts said, the most important thing for him was to cross another milestone off his baseball bucket list. Participating in the Derby is something Betts never really wanted to do, but his wife, Brianna, encouraged him to take part.
After all, the Derby was one of the few things he hadn’t done in a career that has included winning a pair of World Series titles, a league MVP Award and six Gold Glove Awards.
In the end, Betts ended up listening to his wife. It wasn’t the performance he would’ve liked, but it was amusing watching one of the best players in the league step out of his comfort zone.?
“For Julio [Rodríguez], it’s pretty easy,” Betts laughed. “But for me, I just hit line drives, man. For me, it’s very hard.”