“But no one predicted the power he is showing now.”Īfter breaking into the big leagues in 2014, Betts initially saw himself as more a prototypical leadoff hitter - valuing contact and on-base percentage over home runs and slugging statistics. “I don’t think anyone doubted he could drive the baseball,” Hyers said. He never lacked for home runs, collecting 27 in his final two minor league seasons.įor the most part, though, he was a line-drive hitter, more often scorching doubles off the wall than rocketing home runs over it. “I don’t consider Mookie as a ‘power hitter.’ I consider him an elite contact hitter, who hits the ball the right way.”Īs a young player rising through the Boston Red Sox organization a decade ago, Betts always displayed “sneaky pop,” as former Red Sox minor league hitting coordinator Tim Hyers recalled.īetts hit the ball hard, batting. “I tell him all the time, ‘Bro, whenever you suck, you hit homers in BP, ’ ” Martinez said last week, having learned by now that Betts only does so when he’s pressing.

No, according to longtime teammate and close friend J.D. Still, shouldn’t someone of Betts’ track record put on more of a show in BP, and at least launch some towering shots into the seats? His ability to create some torque, it amazes me sometimes.” “There’s a lot of twitch in there and a lot of bat speed. “It’s a really efficient swing,” Dodgers first base coach Clayton McCullough said. He doesn’t have the same violent swing as other premier sluggers, either, adopting a more quick, controlled motion that impacts the baseball like a hyper-coiled spring. He might not look like a prototypical power hitter, with his 5-foot-9 frame listed generously at 180 pounds. Since 2016, only seven players have amassed more homers than his 216 (Betts’ career total is 239). At the All-Star break, the 30-year-old is tied for third in the majors in home runs (26) and is second in slugging percentage (.586).

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