Mookie Betts said he wanted to stay with the Red Sox for his whole career
"That's where I grew up. That's my life. I knew everybody there. It was a short flight to Nashville. Like, everything was perfect."
It’s been more than three years since the Red Sox dealt Mookie Betts and David Price to the Dodgers in a three-team trade that landed Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong, and Jeter Downs.
Speaking with former Red Sox teammate Brock Holt on an episode of Foul Territory, Betts said he wasn’t ready for the trade at the time and wanted to stay in Boston long-term.
“I know people don’t believe it,” Betts said. “But I wanted to stay in Boston my whole career. That’s where I grew up. That’s my life. I knew everybody there. It was a short flight to Nashville. Like, everything was perfect.”
Holt interrupted Betts’s answer to ask a follow-up question. If the Red Sox offered Betts a 10-year, $365 million dollar deal would he have taken it?
“Oh yeah, it was 100 percent,” Betts said. “But it didn’t happen.”
Betts ended up signing a 12-year, $365 million deal with Los Angeles where he has remained ever since.
“It is what it is you know,” Betts said. “When that move happened, I was sad. I was like I don’t want to go out west with the traffic and this, that, and the other. But, you know, it was actually kind of a blessing in disguise. My family loves it, it’s a different way of life. The weather is beautiful, you don’t have to worry about that hot, sticky stuff or freezing cold and everything else in Boston. So, being in LA has been awesome and I’m really happy.”
According to multiple reports, Betts turned down a 10-year, $300 million dollar offer from the Red Sox. Holt compared Betts’ situation to Juan Soto, who turned down a big deal from the Nationals and ended up getting traded.
“It was really hard, but also really easy,” Betts said. “Really hard because I saw the paper that they sent over with the numbers on it and looking at that. It was like ‘I’m good for the rest of my life’. Actually saying no to that was really, really hard … Once I was able to learn to say no, it was still hard, but easy because I had already said no to this a couple times and I had to kind of bet on myself.”
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