When former Dodger Trea Turner began his tenure with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2023, it got off to an underwhelming start. Instead of constantly booing Turner, Phillies fans rallied together and gave him a standing ovation on Aug. 4, and Turner has began to live up to his contract’s standards.
The same will be happening for Mookie Betts for Monday’s game against the St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s no secret that 2025 has by far been the worst offensive season in Betts’ career, but just like how Phillies fans backed up their star shortstop, Dodgers fans will do the same two years to the date since Turner’s ovation.
Jesus Wood, who makes Dodgers and Lakers themed content under the Instagram handle @lajaywood, posted to his page to urge Dodger fans to give Betts the support he deserves in what has been a difficult year on and off the field.
“He’s going through some personal issues,” said Wood in an Instagram video on Sunday addressing fans about the ovation. “The least we can do as fans is show our support, and tomorrow, when they’re back home, I want everybody to stand up to give that guy a standing ovation. That [guy] deserves it.”
After Turner’s ovation in 2023, he went on to slash .337/.389/.668 with 16 home runs, 42 RBI, and a 179 wRC+ from August 4 until the end of the regular season. For Betts, he enters Monday facing a team that he has homered in five of his last 10 games against.
Links
Freddie Freeman’s two-month long slump is now a thing of the past after a torrid road trip where he collected a pair of home runs, collecting deciding hits in both Friday’s and Sunday’s victories against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Freeman’s efforts were crucial in helping the Dodgers conclude their nine game road trip with a winning record, and Dave Roberts is pleased to see the version of Freeman he’s used to seeing, per Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
“It’s great to get Freddie back to being who he is, getting on base, taking walks, hitting doubles,” Roberts said.
The Dodgers played in Tampa outdoors in a regular season series for the first time in franchise history over the weekend, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto spoke on his experience trying to combat the heat on Sunday, per Sonja Chen of MLB.com.
“I changed my jersey and undershirt so many times,” he said. “I got a lot of support from [his interpreter] Hiro.”
Unless Tropicana Field isn’t restored by the 2027 season, the Dodgers won’t have to worry about playing outside in the Florida heat again.