Dodgers' Betts wants to be a 'legend in the game'

Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts is setting lofty career goals.

"I want to be great. When I’m done, I want you to remember not necessarily just the baseball player, but Mookie," Betts told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal. "I want to be a legend in the game."

Betts is on a Hall of Fame path through the first 10 seasons of his career. The 31-year-old is a seven-time All-Star, six-time Silver Slugger, six-time Gold Glove winner, and won AL MVP with the Boston Red Sox in 2018.

Betts is focused on being the best player and person he can be as a way to make his mark.

"Whatever comes my way, I’m just going to try and be the best at it no matter what," Betts said. "If it’s sitting on the bench, I want to be the best cheerleader. Whatever it is. I think if I can do that, I feel like that will create some type of legacy that I can leave."

Betts had his best season with the Dodgers in 2023, amassing 8.3 fWAR, while hitting .307 with 39 home runs, 126 runs scored, and 107 RBIs across 152 games.

He won a World Series in his first season with the Dodgers in 2020 but hasn't made a return trip to the Fall Classic since. Los Angeles was eliminated in the NLDS in each of the past two seasons.

After adding Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto as part of a glamorous offseason, Betts knows the pressure will be high on the Dodgers to deliver in the postseason.

"We’ve been to the playoffs so many times and haven’t come through," Betts said. "We’ve gotten one, but one for nine or ten is not very good in our sport, really in general."

Betts is making the move to second base this season after spending the majority of his career as an outfielder. He is expected to bat leadoff in manager Dave Roberts' lineup ahead of Ohtani and Freddie Freeman.