https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/red-sox/mookie-betts-wants-to-set-the-record-straight?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
I've heard tons of "he didn't want to be here" nonsense and he specifically refutes that.
Hmm, in the end he signed a deal that was essentially 12/300, $25M per year, once you factor in all the deferred money. We'll never know what would have happened without Covid uncertainty at the time, but it feels like he could have beaten that if all he cared about was the biggest deal (a la Cano to SEA).
I also wonder if Covid never happened, would he have actually gone to FA (and still re-signed with the dodgers) but was able to get a bidding war started...
you beat me to it lol
Maybe yeah. But I guess I mean that Boston wasn't going to pay him what LA would have.
There are so many quotes over the years that refute that line of thinking that I'm convinced people are going to want to believe what they want to believe.
I think this is a fair interpretation. I do think, though, that the pandemic was an enormous influence on his decision to forego free agency and sign the extension offer. I personally believe that he had every intention of going all the way through free agency, if only to maximize the offer from the Dodgers. If I recall, he had spoken repeatedly about his sense of duty to the union and future players in getting every last dollar available to him. But suddenly we were facing a nearly unprecedented threat to the broader economy, and I personally believe that changed everything. You are absolutely correct, though. We will never know for sure.
As far as I can tell he thought he'd get a much bigger deal in FA when the Sox offered him 300 million, the Sox traded him to get value because they weren't going to match beyond their 300 million offer - and then Covid hit and with all the uncertainty in the world he took a similar deal to what he was originally offered. I don't think its that complicated. All seem like rational actors from my perspective.
I think this is the most accurate distillation of how things turned out the way they did. Sad to see him go but every actor involved made rational choices in the moments they were made.
I don't know. It's great that he says he wanted to be here, but he chose maximizing money over staying in Boston. In the end, he wanted that more than he wanted to remain where he was. Because he was clear about this, the Sox chose to go in a different direction.
I think he was clear about that from the beginning, that getting FA money as a player in the open market in order to raise the water level for younger players behind him, was the most important thing to him.
Yeah I think this nails it. If the Red Sox had kept him until COVID hit, I think he would still be here and would have signed a deal very similar to what they originally offered.
Yes, all of that is covered in depth in Alex Speier’s excellent book, Homegrown. I don’t specially recall a Lester being mentioned, though.
You note that it's not apples to apples- but I think the biggest issue here was on timing. Sox were connected to several big contracts that weren't producing (at all- Pedroia, Fat Panda) or overvalued and injured (Sale) or wanting to be rid of for a variety of reasons despite WS heroics a year earlier (Price). I don't think they could have offered anyone what market value was determining. Going forward into the future they don't have those excuses anymore.
I see zero evidence that Mookie HAD to play in one of only two markets because he saw himself as a star.
If you mean why did the Dodgers and their model franchise offer Mookie a deal that the Sox felt was bad business, I'd say probably because at the time they hadn't won a championship since 1988 so they paid for a star for short term gains, knowing that the out years could be bad.
At some point this will be proven right, I think.
Indeed. And they were inferior to the next team they faced in the Series. But they also bombed out of 2019 when they should have been clear favorites. I'll always love Roberts but he's just an OK manager.
That could be, but we've seen over the years that some players seem to care more about the headline numbers than the present value. Also Mookie never reached free agency
Right. And big market teams like the Red Sox are always going to have high payrolls. This is not the Rays or the A's getting rid of players to avoid paying them; they are going to pay somebody. That money is going somewhere. If it's not Lester it is Price. If it is not Bogaerts it is Story. One way or another John Henry is spending $220,000,000, which means you are going to have some high-priced talent. I have my preferences but they obviously have their own ideas.
Other than signing an extension with LA after saying he was going all the way to free agency?
You can’t discount the effect that Covid uncertainty had on his decision to sign early.
Not sure about that. There are a significant number of people (myself included) that have been less interested in the team since Mookie was traded. I'm not sure if revenue is down as a result, but I know revenue is down, and it might stay that way for a while.
If you weren’t interested in last year’s team because you were still mad about Betts, I’m not sure what to say. I loved Mookie too, was terribly disappointed we traded him and hate seeing him for the Dodgers. But when this team is fun, they’re fun. Mookie or no Mookie.
It was a colossal failure not to do what needed to be done to keep Mookie. It should have been taken care of long before Bloom arrived. Ownership screwed up.
I watched the post season. It was a good run. But neither me or any members of my baseball loving family felt the need to make the annual trip to the ballpark.
I paid money to go to Fenway to see Mookie Betts play baseball. If they sold tickets that somehow only allowed you to watch Mookie, I’d happily buy them.
Yep. I'd pay to watch him bowl.
Yes, Xander and Devers are great ballplayers and appealing personalities. Mookie is at a level above them. Watching Mookie play was as close as we of this generation can get to seeing a Willie Mays-type talent.
