Mookie Betts is on the precipice of joining rarefied air as the Dodgers prepare to defend their World Series title against the winner of the ALCS.
Betts has already won three World Series titles, dating back to his days with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, the Dodgers’ win over the COVID-shortened season in 2020 and last year’s title win over the Yankees.
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With a fourth, Betts would become only the 19th player in the Divisional Era — which began in 1969 — to win four World Series titles. A fifth would further launch Betts into elite MLB company, as only six have won five titles.
Betts has thought about what it would mean to win a second consecutive title, something that hasn’t happened since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.
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“Something that hasn’t been done in a long time,” Betts told MLB.com. “I think we’re all kind of set on that and understand that’s the final goal. That’s something that I think we’ll all take pride in because it hasn’t been done in so long.”
With a win in the World Series, Betts would become the only active player with four titles. Interestingly, he would be only the fourth player since 1969 to accomplish this feat while never winning a World Series as a member of the Yankees.
While Betts and the Dodgers appear destined for a second consecutive World Series title after cruising through the postseason, dropping just one game so far to the Philadelphia Phillies in the NLDS, Betts acknowledged that getting to this point in the season was not an easy ride.
“We had never doubted on the inside. We just played,” Betts said. “We didn’t care what was going on outside. We know how much talent we have. It’s not always going to be glitz and glamor.”
Despite many in the media basically handing the Dodgers the Commissioner’s Trophy, Betts warned against getting over confident as a team looking to repeat. The Dodgers may already be a heavy favorite to win the World Series, but there are still four games separating them from history.
“We still have another series to play, so we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves,” Betts said. “But, especially just to go back-to-back, it’s special just to have this trip at least.”
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