Two men wearing hoodies pushed a shopping cart full of food for the homeless near the Boston Public Library around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.

One of them was Mookie Betts.

Hours after leading the Red Sox to a 4-2 win in Game 2 of the World Series, Boston’s MVP candidate appeared downtown with trays of steak tips and chicken for the dozens of homeless men and women who sleep near the library.

After handing out the trays, Betts and the other man, later identified as a cousin, walked around the block to make sure other people in the area knew there was food, according to Mike Winter, who saw the scene after leaving an area nightclub and described it to sports radio station WEEI.

“I didn’t know who they were at first. They had hoodies on,” Winter told the station. “Next thing I know they are laying out trays of food. Then they’re walking around all of Boston library where there are tons of homeless and telling people there is food around the corner. I walked up and I said, ‘Hello,’ because we have a mutual friend, and then all the people from the club came out and (Betts) just walked away. No pictures. No nothing. None of the homeless even knew who he was, but they were just grateful for what he was doing.”

Betts has a history of helping feed the homeless. In 2015, he and utility man Blake Swihart credited buying pizza for the homeless in New York City with providing them good karma at the plate. Both players homered twice in back-to-back games in the series against the Yankees.

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Betts’s generosity is endearing him to Boston faithful already tickled by his 3-for-4 performance at the plate and Gold Glove play in the outfield in Game 2. Winter said he was most impressed that Betts didn’t care about getting any attention for his good deed.

“You see a lot of celebrities do stuff for recognition, but the fact was he was trying to stay totally on the down-low. He wasn’t out looking for any recognition at all,” Winter told WEEI. “A lot of people are looking for a pat on the back and he wasn’t looking for that whatsoever. He was incognito, just trying to do good.”

Each of the last 10 teams and 16 of the last 17 to hold a 2-0 lead in the title series have gone on to win it. Only the Yankees were able to dig out from their deficit against the Braves in 1996, surging to the first of their four titles in five years by winning four straight games. It’s the fifth 2-0 lead for Boston in the World Series, and only the heartbreak against the Mets in 1986 has sullied the record.

“I think we’re just taking it game by game,” Red Sox outfielder Andrew Benintendi said after a 4-2 win in Game 2. “We’re happy, obviously, that we won this game. But our focus now is on Friday in L.A.”

Boston had five players nominated for a Gold Glove award, with the short lists released Thursday by Rawlings on social media.

Mitch Moreland and Ian Kinsler joined Benintendi, Bradley and Betts among the American League’s defensive elite.


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