LOS ANGELES — The uniform drapes over Mookie Betts’ body like it’s two sizes too big. The gold “Dodgers” on his chest sags. Just five days ago, he described his body as eating itself and revealed he’d lost nearly 20 pounds due to a stomach virus. Already attempting an unprecedented transition to shortstop, the former MVP entered this season with the added challenge of competing at well under his usual playing weight.
But he’s still Mookie Betts. That much was for certain as he rounded the bases, pumping his fist as his second home run of the night Friday soared into the left-field pavilion at Dodger Stadium. His walk-off three-run blast secured an 8-5 extra-inning win for the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Detroit Tigers, and it defied imagination.
“He’s superhuman,” Max Muncy said. “I would say we’re not shocked by it because we’ve seen it so many times.”
Added manager Dave Roberts: “That was not on my bingo card.”
The Dodgers remain unbeaten and unfazed as they ride the high of their World Series title a year ago. On Ring Night, Betts’ home run cemented their first 4-0 start since the now-52-year-old Roberts was sitting in his third-grade class in North Carolina in 1981.
MOOKIE BETTS WALK-OFF HOMER! UNBELIEVABLE! pic.twitter.com/PpYP5FpVcd
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2025
Their first two wins came with Betts on a separate continent, having traveled back early from their season-opening festivities in Tokyo due to symptoms of the virus he’d felt since before the trip even began. Betts was vomiting regularly and unable to keep solid foods down for more than a week, requiring an IV bag while at the Tokyo Dome and a diet of smoothies for sustenance while he continued to work out.
His status for the opening series at Dodger Stadium and the parade of festivities that came with it was in jeopardy just days ago. He spent the last few days scarfing down as much food as he could stomach to regain weight, even during games.
“Just eating,” Betts said. “All day.”
He has only regained about half the weight he lost. Betts, whose usual playing weight is 175 pounds, was at 165 pounds Friday. When his first home run of the night, a go-ahead blast in the eighth inning against Will Vest, snuck over the fence, it drew playful snickers from teammates that it was as hard as he could hit a ball at the moment. The pitch came in at 96.7 mph and left Betts’ bat at 95.8 mph. That was different.
“Right now, I’m just having fun hitting 160-pound homers,” Betts said.
The lead that Betts gave the Dodgers was short-lived. Tanner Scott, the Dodgers’ high-priced free-agent reliever, coughed it up with the Tigers down to their final out. A replay review, with New York ruling that catcher Austin Barnes’ tag had caught Manuel Margot’s foot at home plate, kept the game tied and sent it to extra innings.
The Tigers scored two in the 10th, but their lead evaporated quickly. When Betts came up in the bottom of the inning, there were runners on second and third with one out in a tie game. Twice, he kept himself alive in a full count by spoiling a pitch from Detroit’s Beau Brieske. When Brieske’s eighth pitch of the at-bat caught too much plate, Betts golfed the changeup into the seats.
Betts erupted. Weeks of things bubbling up from inside him came out this time with emotion.
“That was super special,” Betts said. “I know it sounds super selfish, but more for me. I was just really proud of myself for coming in and playing underweight, not that it’s a big deal to be underweight. But just the fight that I’ve been through, the ups and downs, the nights where I’m just crying because I’m sick, my wife there kind of holding me. That’s where that emotion comes from.”
Mookie Betts celebrates with teammates after his walk-off home run. (Kirby Lee / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
The ballpark was already emotionally charged.
The Dodgers turned Friday’s ceremony into a Hollywood affair. Actor and comedian Anthony Anderson emceed the festivities, poking fun at Roberts for twerking on Ice Cube during last November’s parade. Randy Thomas, the voice of the Academy Awards, handled the formal introductions. Keith Williams Jr., a Los Angeles institution, led a rousing rendition of “We Are The Champions.”
Roberts drew an ovation before Anderson could even say his name. The capacity crowd roared for Clayton Kershaw, as they always do. They collectively called for Betts. Chants of “Freddie, Freddie” began before the reigning World Series MVP even climbed to the top step. The building exploded for NL MVP Shohei Ohtani.
It’s time to turn the page toward the historic implications of repeating. But after the October failures for three seasons between titles, Roberts and the Dodgers wanted to revel in things a bit longer with some new jewelry.
The gaudy piece of regalia tells a story. Eight diamonds line its sides, representing each of the franchise’s championships. The bottom of it, five more diamonds, represents the five-run deficit they overcame in the fifth inning of Game 5 of last year’s World Series.
Within, there’s a piece of a base from the series overlaid by the Dodgers’ logo. Surrounding it are 34 sapphires to honor the late Fernando Valenzuela, whose death came just days before Game 1 against the New York Yankees.
Each player’s name and uniform numbers are immortalized within a hexagon mimicking the ballpark’s scoreboard, with the number encrusted in more diamonds. The interior has each player’s signature inscribed.
“It’s my favorite one,” said Betts, who now has three. “Hopefully, I can get some more and we’ll be able to compare.”
(Top photo: Kirby Lee / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)