Mookie Betts on his 2016 season: ‘I’m a realist … it ain’t getting much better than that’
At just 24 years old, Mookie Betts seems to think his best season could already be behind him.
“Last year could be arguably the best year I have in my career,” the Red Sox right fielder told WEEI in a podcast interview Wednesday.
“I’m a realist and I know it ain’t getting much better than that,” Betts said. “When am I going to hit 30 home runs again? I don’t know if I ever will. When am I ever going to hit .320 again? I don’t know if I ever will.”
After nearly winning the AL MVP award last season, Betts’s statistics have regressed in 2017 — though he was selected to his second All-Star Game. The fourth-year player is batting .273 with 17 home runs this season.
Betts said Wednesday that he’d be happy to get anywhere close to where he was last year.
“Knowing I’m not really doing that right now, it’s kind of rough,” he said. “But in the grand scheme of things, the season is not over and the most important thing is that we’re winning so I can’t really be too mad about it.”
In the interview, Betts also admitted it had been a “rough” season for the team in their first season without David Ortiz to lean on. Betts specifically mentioned Dustin Pedroia and Chris Sale as players who have filled the vacuum — both on the field and in the clubhouse — but said he felt like he hadn’t done his part.
“I’ve had some good moments, but I’ve had a lot of stretches where I haven’t done anything,” he said. “This year has been learning how to do deal with that and learning how to get out of it.”
The Red Sox are currently leading the AL East by a half-game over the New York Yankees.
Listen to Betts’s full podcast interview with Rob Bradford over at WEEI.com.
