The Red Sox started a six-game western swing last Tuesday with a game against the Los Angeles Angels, the second hottest team in the American League behind the Sox at that time. The Sox were scheduled to face the latest super hero out of Japan Shohei Ohtani, who had pitched and won his first two starts, both against Oakland, pitching 13 innings with a 2.08 ERA and hitting .367 with three homers and 11 RBI’s in just 30 at bats.

The upcoming meeting between the Red Sox and Ohtani had Red Sox fans nervous. Their boys had been the hottest team in baseball, winning 13 of their first 15 games against mainly lower talent teams and here came the Angels with their newest superstar.

Enter Mookie Betts. In inning No. 1, Ohtani threw the Sox lead off hitter a 93-mile per hour fastball for ball one, then a 94-mph fast ball followed by a 95-mph fast ball both of which Mookie fouled off. Ohtani then missed badly with two splitters to bring the count to 3-2. Mookie fouled off another fast ball, this one at 96 mph. Ohtani then fired a 97-mph fast ball which Mookie deposited in the left field seats to start a 10-1 rout of the Angels.

Ohtani lasted just two innings and by the way, Mookie managed to hit two more homers in the game off two different pitchers and walked twice.  Welcome to Major League Baseball, Mookie Betts style, Mr. Ohtani.

The next night as the Sox train was still rolling along, Mookie went 2-for-5 and scored another run to bring his average to .390 and his runs scored to 20 in 18 games. Putting Mookie in the lead off position was an unpopular decision with many Red Sox fans and experts. His numbers over the last two years, over 100 runs scored and batted each year, 55 homers and 380 hits over two years, point to a middle of the order slot for him. With a .390 batting average, five homers, 13 runs batted in and 20 runs scored after just 17 games this year, Mookie is proving again that he can be effective wherever he bats. 

There are some spectacular defensive outfielders in the American League East, including Mookie’s teammate Jackie Bradley, Tampa Bays’ Kevin Kiermaier and Toronto’s Kevin Pillar. These three patrol center field like it belongs to them and make some of the most spectacular plays you’ll ever see.  

Mookie plays right field, one of the most difficult defensive positions in baseball, especially in Fenway Park where he spends half his time. Most Major League hitters are right handed and as anybody who has played the outfield knows, when a right handed batter hits a ball “the other way” or to right, anything can happen to the ball. The natural effect upon a ball hit that way is the spin the bat imparts to the ball which alters its flight and its roll once it hits the ground.

Mookie came to the Sox as an infielder and quickly learned to play the outfield with the best of them. His natural speed and rifle arm have helped him to be effective in this difficult position. His biggest asset, however, not only in the field, but on the bases, is his natural instinct for the game. He gets a tremendous jump on batted balls and makes routine catches out of what for most outfielders would have to be spectacular catches if they got to the ball. 

Mookie makes things happen when he is on base. Not only is he one of the faster base runners in baseball, he is considered by many to be the best base runner. When he got hurt scoring from first base on Benintendi’s double in game against Baltimore on April 14th, he was taking a calculated Mookie Betts’ gamble. I like to think that he is from the Darrell Royal school of baseball.  Darrell Royal, former legendary coach of the University of Texas Longhorns football team, is often credited with saying of the forward pass in football “Three things can happen when you throw the ball, and two of them are bad.”

Mookie and a few other players in baseball apply this philosophy to baseball.  When Benintendi hit the ball to the wall in left field, Mookie left first base and was flying around the bases. He knew when he was running that it would take a perfect relay to get him. That meant that the left fielder had to pick the ball up cleanly, make a good throw to the shortstop, who would then have to catch the ball cleanly and make a good throw to the catcher and get the ball there before Mookie got there and the catcher would have to catch the ball cleanly and tag Mookie before he got to the plate in order to prevent him scoring.

In a case like this, when you force the other team to throw the ball, particularly in a relay situation, many things can happen and all but one of them are good for you. A breakdown at any stage of the process works to your advantage. Everything worked perfectly for the defense until the throw from the shortstop hit Mookie’s back instead of the catcher’s mitt and Mookie had scored his 16th run of the season in his 15th game.

The collision at home plate which resulted from Mookie’s hustle caused a contusion on his left leg which forced him to leave the game an inning later but his hustle had already contributed to a 4-0 lead which was enough for the Sox to win.  

Mookie can do it all and the best part of it all is that he can be that effective and do it with a smile on his face all the time.

In 1963, in a much different world than today, I became a police officer in my home town. In those days, policing was much less complicated than it is today and I have always told people that I couldn’t believe that they paid me good money to go out there every day and play the games I played as a kid.

Mookie is obviously experiencing the same wonder I did but on a much higher, intensive level than I and I would defy you to find a person in any occupation who enjoys going to work as much as he does.

I recently wrote a column in this space about Jerry Remy, the Face of the Red Sox. Mookie Betts is the Heart and Soul of the Sox and easily the best player in baseball today.

— Carl Johnson lives in Sanford and writes a weekly baseball column for the Journal Tribune Sunday. Contact him at [email protected] and check out his blog at baseballworldbjt.com.