Mookie Betts knows he won’t be batting leadoff on Monday when he returns from a broken hand that has sidelined him for 42 games with the NL West-leading Dodgers this season. That spot has been ceded to Shohei Ohtani.
Betts also seems to know what his place is within the club, based on this curious response to Dodgers beat writer Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register, which may reveal something about the pecking order in L.A. these days.
“I mean, I can’t say I’m better than Shohei. There’s nothing really you can say,” Betts said. “Whatever Shohei says goes, and after that we kind of fall in line.”
Ohtani, who signed with the Dodgers for a record 10-year, $700-million deal the off-season, has hit .307 with 33 runs scored, 15 home runs and 35 RBI since taking over the leadoff spot from Betts, who got hurt on June 16.
Betts moved to the leadoff spot shortly after joining the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox in 2020, and he’s made it known he prefers to be there. He was hitting .304 with 10 homers in 72 games before getting hit by a pitch.
The NL West-leading Dodgers open a four-game series at Milwaukee next Monday, when Betts is set to rejoin the team.
The top of the Dodgers’ lineup will be Ohtani, Betts and Freddie Freeman beginning next week.
Interesting answer in here from Betts about ceding the Dodgers leadoff spot to Shohei Ohtani: “I mean, I can’t say I’m better than Shohei. There’s nothing really you can say. Whatever Shohei says goes, and after that we kind of fall in line”
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