The Mookie Monster: The Pitcher-Devouring Outfielder
Fenway Park has certainly seen its fair share of talented outfielders. From Tris Speaker to Ted Williams to Carl Yastrzemski to Jim Rice to Fred Lynn to defensive stalwart Manny Ramirez, the Green Monster has been the front row seat to many legendary outfielders. The current gold standard in the Boston outfield is the electric Mookie Betts, who ironically did not spend most of his minor league career in the outfield. Betts has emerged as a power-speed-defense dynamo, roaming the outfield for the Sawx while launching balls over the Green Monster. He has began his career in almost an unprecedented fashion, but where does he stack up with other Red Sox greats?
MOOKIE BETTS ON HIMSELF
As a high schooler in Nashville, Mookie Betts was a three-sport star, but one of those sports certainly wouldn’t be the one you would associate with someone with his sort of athletic ability. Betts excelled in baseball, basketball, and bowling, including posting a 290 game during his time in high school. Despite his prowess on the lanes, college and pro scouts were more intrigued by his skills on the diamond. Following a season in which he hit over .500 and stole 30 bases, Betts committed to playing baseball for the University of Tennessee.
Betts would not set foot in Rocky Top, however, as he was selected in the 5th round of the 2011 MLB Draft by the Red Sox. He would agree to a $575,000 signing bonus and join the Red Sox as part of a draft class that included Matt Barnes, Blake Swihart, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. His minor league career would start somewhat modestly, accumulating only 4 plate appearances in 2011 after signing, and posting a .658 OPS in 71 games for Lowell in the New York Penn League in 2012. Betts would rebound in a big way in 2013, racking up an OPS of .923 while splitting time between Class-A Greenville and High-A Salem.
Going into the 2014 season, both Baseball America and MLB.com took notice, ranking Betts 75th and 62nd, respectively, on their Top 100 prospects lists. Entering his age-21 season, Betts was on the fast track to the MLB, but one obstacle stood in his way. He had emerged through the minors playing second base, but Boston had recently signed their second-base stalwart, former AL MVP Dustin Pedroia, to a lucrative contract extension. Betts would tear through both Double-A and Triple-A in 2014, and he would grab an outfield glove along the way in order to try and find his way into Boston’s crowded lineup. He would make his debut on June 29, 2014, which would’ve likely been the culmination of his junior year at Tennessee, had he not gambled on himself and signed with Boston. It’s safe to say, the gamble has paid off for both Betts and the Red Sox.
FENWAY PHENOM
Mookie Betts’ arrival in Boston was not a surprise, but the emergence of his all-around game may have shocked even the most optimistic prognosticators. The first part of Betts’ profile that may have been a question mark was his defensive transition to the outfield, but he has more than alleviated any questions surrounding his aptitude in the outfield. In his first season, mostly in center field, Betts posted a stellar 1.5 dWAR, displaying his ability to use his athleticism to cover the expanses of the Fenway Park outfield. In 2015, Betts would primarily patrol right field, with Jackie Bradley, Jr. taking over in center field to create an elite defensive outfield with fellow youngster Andrew Benintendi. Betts would be even more effective in right field, posting a dWAR of 2.9 and 2.6 in his first two full seasons (2015, 2016) respectively. He would be awarded a Gold Glove in both 2015 and 2016, including winning the Wilson Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.
Another aspect of Betts’ game that emerged upon his arrival in Boston was his homerun power. While Betts posted a more-than-respectable .472 slugging percentage across his minor league career, he only accumulated 27 homers in 1,315 plate appearances. As he has matured, both physically and within the confines of Major League Baseball, Betts has become a prime homerun threat. He hit 18, 31, and 24 homers in his first three full seasons, respectively, while maintaining his stolen base prowess in stealing 20+ bases in each season. Betts’ power/speed dominance, along with his defensive wizardry, led him to a second-place finish in the 2016 AL MVP voting, finishing behind only modern luminary Mike Trout.
Having already established himself as a perennial MVP candidate, Betts has started 2018 on a torrid pace. In his first 133 plate appearances, Betts has posted league-bests in homers (13), runs (36), batting average (.360) and OPS+ (226). While this pace is all-but-guaranteed to not last, Betts is showing an improvement in his age-25 season that may not only threaten Trout’s throne as the best in the game, but will put him on an arc toward the legendary names that have roamed the outfield in Boston.
Seasons with an OPS of .800+ for Red Sox, before age 24:
- 1t. Ted Williams/Tris Speaker: 4
- 3t. Mookie Betts/Carl Yastrzemski/Bobby Doerr: 3
Highest WAR in a season, Red Sox batter age 23 or younger:
- 1t. Ted Williams (1942): 10.6
- 1t. Ted Williams (1941): 10.6
- 3. Mookie Betts (2016): 9.7
- 4. Tris Speaker (1910): 7.7
- 5. Fred Lynn (1975): 7.4
Combined WAR before age 26, Red Sox batters:
- 1. Tris Speaker, 38.7
- 2. Ted Williams, 34.2
- 3. Mookie Betts, 27.0
- 4. Nomar Garciaparra, 20.4
- 5. Reggie Smith, 19.5
As you can see above, Betts has already placed himself among legends of both the Red Sox and the Major Leagues. If he is able to stay healthy and keep his current arc, the number 50 will certainly be hanging in Fenway Park.
(statistics courtesy of baseball-reference.com; current as of 5/7/18)
