Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts, 32, will try his hand at shortstop.

MLB.com, the official site of Major League Baseball, reported on Wednesday (June 12), “For the second time this offseason, superstar outfielder Mookie Betts will make an unprecedented position switch. Last December, the Dodgers announced that Betts, a six-time Gold Glove winner, would make a complete position change from right field to second base. It was a surprising decision, but one that made sense, but an even more shocking position move was in store. Manager Dave Roberts noted Betts’ position change, saying, “Betts is going from second base to the starting shortstop.

Betts is a superstar in the majors with a career batting average of .294 (5044-for-1,485), 252 home runs, 756 RBI, 996 runs scored, 172 stolen bases, and a .900 OPS in 1265 career games. He won the American League MVP in 2018 and finished second in National League MVP voting last season after batting .307 (179-for-584) with 39 home runs, 107 RBI, 126 runs scored, 14 doubles, and a .987 OPS in 152 games. He is also a seven-time All-Star and six-time Silver Slugger, 카지노사이트 among other honors. In July 2020, he signed a 12-year, $365 million extension with the Dodgers.

As good a defender as he is a hitter, Betts is a six-time Gold Glove-winning outfielder, but the Dodgers surprised everyone this offseason when they announced plans to move Betts to second base, and then reverted to using him as their starting shortstop.

Betts is no stranger to the infield.

Betts has started 100 games (713 innings) at second base in his major league career and 16 games (98 innings) at shortstop. The only time he played shortstop was last season.

MLB.com emphasized how unusual Betts’ position change was, noting that “since 1947, only 13 players in Major League Baseball history have played at least 100 games at both shortstop and right field, and none of them made the switch from the outfield to the infield at age 31.”

Noting Betts’ challenge at shortstop, MLB.com broke down Betts’ defense at shortstop last season. First, he fielded all six of the easy infield grounders perfectly. As MLB.com notes, “All of Betts’s ground balls were 95 percent out according to Statcast. Betts made all of those plays, as any good fielder would,” MLB.com explained. Then there were eight hard pitches with a 10% or less chance of an out, none of which resulted in an out. However, MLB.com noted that not catching these hard pitches is not a big deal.

Betts’ hardest hit last season was a seemingly easy play at first glance. In a game against the Nats, he caught Lane Thomas’ grounder for an out. MLB.com writes, “Betts’ toughest play last year may not look like much, but it was more difficult than you might think. Lane Thomas is one of the fastest players in the majors. You could argue that most shortstops would be able to handle it, but we’re talking about a guy who played the outfield, not shortstop, for a long time.”

The easy grounder was 27 of 31 for an out.

MLB.com wrote, “This play is the key. It’s a small sample size, but Betts made 87% of his batted balls for outs (89% if you include fly balls). Most of the plays looked like a shortstop, not an outfielder. Nothing particularly noteworthy. But that’s what matters. Betts doesn’t play shortstop to make spectacular plays. What really matters is how many ordinary balls he gets out,” said Betts, emphasizing that it’s important for Betts to make as many of those ordinary balls as possible.

Betts will open the season with a two-game series against San Diego at Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul on April 20 and 21. In the newly renovated Gocheok Dome for the Major League Baseball season opener, Betts will battle for shortstop defense with Kim Ha-seong (San Diego), who has called Gocheok Dome home for many years.

Kim is eligible for free agency after this season. With a big season ahead of him, Kim will be the starting shortstop this season, pushing out Xander Bogaerts, 메이저 토토사이트 who San Diego signed to an 11-year, $280 million deal. Kim, who won the National League Gold Glove for utility last year, will now challenge for the Gold Glove at shortstop.

Fans are excited to see what Betts and Kim will bring to the table in the Seoul Series.