User:GhostRiver/mookie

Markus Lynn "Mookie" Betts (born October 7, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder and second baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Boston Red Sox. A seven-time All-Star, Betts won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2018 and with the Dodgers in 2020. He was named the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player in 2018.

Early life
Betts was born October 7, 1992, in Nashville, Tennessee. His mother Diana Collins worked for the Tennessee Department of Transportation, while his father Willie Betts, a Vietnam War veteran, was a railroad mechanical superintendent. When he was five years old, Betts was turned away from his local Little League Baseball team for being undersized, prompting his mother to start and coach her own team.

Draft and minor leagues (2011–2014)
The Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Betts in the fifth round, 172nd overall, of the 2011 MLB Draft. At the time, Betts had committed to playing college baseball for the Tennessee Volunteers. Betts ultimately forfeited his college eligibility and joined the Red Sox on a $750,000 signing bonus.


 * 2011 GCL Red Sox
 * 2012 Lowell Spinners
 * 2013 Greenville Drive
 * 2013 Salem Red Sox
 * 2013 Surprise Saguaros

After the regular Minor League Baseball season, Betts played in the Arizona Fall League, where he led the Surprise Saguaros to a championship title over the Mesa Solar Sox.


 * 2014 Portland Sea Dogs
 * 2014 Pawtucket Red Sox

Boston Red Sox (2014–2019)

 * 2014
 * 2015
 * 2016
 * 2017
 * 2018
 * 2019

Los Angeles Dodgers (2020–present)
On February 10, 2020, the Red Sox traded Betts, David Price, and cash to the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong. While the 2020 MLB season was paused due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Betts and the Dodgers agreed to a 12-year, $365 million contract extension to prevent him from reaching free agency that offseason.


 * 2020
 * 2021
 * 2022
 * 2023

Betts received his seventh All-Star Game selection in 2023, starting in the outfield for the National League team. He also participated in his first career Home Run Derby, where he was eliminated by Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the first round.

The Arizona Diamondbacks swept the Dodgers in the 2023 NLDS, holding Betts hitless in 11 at bats. After the series, Betts told reporters that he "did absolutely nothing to help [the Dodgers] win". At the end of the year, Betts finished second in NL MVP voting, behind Ronald Acuña Jr. of the Atlanta Braves. He also received his sixth Silver Slugger Award and sixth Fielding Bible Award, the latter of which he was given as a utility player for the first time.

International career
In August 2022, Betts committed to representing Team USA at the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Family and relationships
Betts met his wife, Brianna Hammonds, in middle school, and they began dating shortly thereafter. They announced their engagement in January 2021 after 15 years of dating, and the couple married that December in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, with many of Betts' Dodgers teammates in attendance. They have two children together: their daughter was born November 6, 2018,