{"id":76206,"date":"2025-07-19T20:06:14","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T20:06:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/76206\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T20:06:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T20:06:14","slug":"mookie-betts-season-long-slump-has-continued-for-the-dodgers-you-get-so-lost-in-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/76206\/","title":{"rendered":"Mookie Betts\u2019 season-long slump has continued for the Dodgers: \u2018You get so lost in it\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES \u2014 In looking to get through the worst offensive stretch of his career, Mookie Betts went home. Those who know the Los Angeles Dodgers star understand that more work is the former Most Valuable Player\u2019s usual remedy to even perceived struggles.<\/p>\n

This is the same man who swung last October until his hands were raw, then continued swinging. Doing so in a facility near his home in Nashville, Tenn., rather than in the bowels of Dodger Stadium at least provided a different scene to the monotonous work that has accompanied what has dragged on long enough to be considered more than just a massive slump.<\/p>\n

So Betts continued to swing at a facility in Nashville. The impetus was going home and seeing family. The fresh location likely didn\u2019t hurt, to get away from a miserable start that has lasted months. When Betts woke up Friday to start the second half of the season, he had a .696 OPS, the worst mark of his career. His frustrations come from an obvious place: The Dodgers need Betts to get going.<\/p>\n

This marked the first time since Betts\u2019 first full season in 2015 that he got to the All-Star break healthy and did not secure an invitation to the game itself. For as much as his defense has been a pleasant surprise in his unprecedented move to shortstop at 32 years old, his bat has plummeted. For months, Betts and the Dodgers have denied a correlation between the two.<\/p>\n

Betts was less conclusive Friday. \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d he said. It\u2019s a moot point, with the Dodgers unlikely to move Betts off the position anytime soon.<\/p>\n

His struggles continued Friday against the Milwaukee Brewers, as he went hitless in four at-bats. He chased badly at a Quinn Priester cutter well off the plate to end his first at-bat. He chased again in his next at-bat, hitting a breaking ball into the dirt for an out. When the Dodgers got just their second runner in scoring position against Priester, Betts worked a full count before waving at a cutter above the zone.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers\u2019 2-0 loss came to an end with Betts at the plate, swinging at a knuckle curve below the zone and grounding out softly to short. A solution doesn\u2019t come overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou get so lost in it,\u201d Betts said. \u201cOnce you go down a rabbit hole \u2014 not a rabbit hole like I\u2019m chasing something \u2014 but once you get down so far, up is so high that you just don\u2019t even care about it anymore. Obviously, yes, I do want to play better. But where I was and where I am now, it\u2019s so night and day different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fixing Betts\u2019 bat isn\u2019t as simple as sliding him back to right field, where he became one of the best players in the sport. Same for second base, which was Betts\u2019 original infield landing spot when the Dodgers first broached moving him to the infield full-time in 2024. It also wasn\u2019t as simple as Betts\u2019 regaining the 20 pounds he lost due to a gnarly stomach virus he contracted shortly before Opening Day. He regained his weight and then some within weeks. His bat still hasn\u2019t recovered.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never done this,\u201d Betts said after hitting a round of batting practice on the field. More rounds awaited him in the batting cage. \u201cIt\u2019s all new. I\u2019ve never been this bad for this long.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the start of June, Mookie Betts has a .627 OPS with just 11 extra-base hits. \u201cIt\u2019s very difficult,\u201d he said. (Neville E. Guard \/ Imagn Images)<\/p>\n

Betts is striking out less often than ever. But that contact has not translated like Betts is used to. His power numbers are down significantly. His average had plummeted to .244 when he boarded his flight to Nashville. Perhaps seeking results, he\u2019s chasing out of the strike zone more than at any point in his career. The Dodgers wanted Betts to play shortstop because his bat could make the game\u2019s most valuable infield position sing. Instead, Betts has produced at a below-league-average rate by wRC+ (96).<\/p>\n

Managing a swing is a seemingly impossible task. But Betts\u2019 frame and the mechanics of his swing make the maintenance even more difficult. Given his size, he relies more on each part of his swing working in concert to make everything click. When he\u2019s right, few players can adapt better to a pitch mid-flight, with his hands helping the barrel of his bat square up baseballs like few others.<\/p>\n

Part of Betts\u2019 issues this season have been consistent, said Dodgers hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc. Few know Betts\u2019 swing better. This season, the shortstop has struggled to pin down a moving target with how his hands load into his swing. As a result, all of the minuscule parts that allow his swing to function have been a little off, as well. In one clip of his work in Nashville<\/a> this week, Betts swung a bat with what appeared to be a medicine ball resting between his elbows. The goal was to keep the ball pinned between his elbows as he loaded and finished the swing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that\u2019s right, he\u2019s one of the top hitters in the sport,\u201d Van Scoyoc said. \u201cHe\u2019s one thought, one cue, one drill from being a top hitter in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe hasn\u2019t really gotten ahead by getting hot yet,\u201d Roberts said before the All-Star break. \u201cBut it\u2019s coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things haven\u2019t trended up. Since the start of June, Betts has a .627 OPS with just 11 extra-base hits. This, Betts said, is new. He\u2019s on his second consecutive month with an OPS below .700 \u2014 before this, he\u2019d had only five such months in his career. His overall line has gone down far enough that Betts doesn\u2019t even spend time processing what getting out of this looks like. This is a bat the Dodgers have largely survived without, racing to the National League\u2019s best record even with Betts slumping. But as last October showed, Betts\u2019 production is as important as anyone\u2019s in this lineup.<\/p>\n

The Dodgers have remained steadfast with Betts, keeping him in the second spot in the order throughout. Save for one \u201cmental day\u201d that manager Dave Roberts gave Betts this month and a series he missed with a fractured pinkie toe, Betts has remained the everyday shortstop.<\/p>\n

That continued Friday, as Betts again ran through a series of swings trying to find something. As of Friday afternoon, Betts said, his swing feels good. As he said it, he immediately cautioned: He has felt good a lot this year. It hasn\u2019t made the actual swing any better.<\/p>\n

So, Betts has kept swinging. If there\u2019s one thing they can\u2019t be critical of, it\u2019s Betts\u2019 work.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult,\u201d Betts said. \u201cI haven\u2019t figured it out. So, obviously, it\u2019s super difficult. But I\u2019ll tell you one thing: I definitely love the process of it. I definitely love the process of trying to figure out who I am, where I\u2019m at, the work. I haven\u2019t found it, and it sucks. Going out there every night, going 0-for-4, that part of the day truly sucks. But you see it. All day, I\u2019m out here working and hitting, and I love it. I love that. It\u2019s the best part.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Top photo: Harry How \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n