Dodgers' Mookie Betts Shares Feelings on Red Sox 5 Years After Blockbuster Trade

Mookie Betts has won two World Series since the Boston Red Sox traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2020, but the eight-time All-Star said he still loves his old team.

Aug 25, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts (50) makes the out at second base against the Boston Red Sox in the fifth inning at Fenway Park. | David Butler II-Imagn Images

It has been nearly five years since the Boston Red Sox decided to trade Mookie Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Betts went on to sign a 12-year, $365 million contract with the Dodgers before winning World Series rings in both 2020 and 2024. He has continued on a Hall of Fame track, all while the team that drafted him has struggled to compete.

Amid his success in Los Angeles, Betts holds no ill will towards Boston.

Betts went on Thursday's episode of "All the Smoke" with former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, touching on a wide variety of topics as the offseason winds down. But for all the talk about Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers' chances of repeating and his bowling career, Betts didn't shy away from discussing the Red Sox.

"As quiet as it's kept, I enjoy watching Red Sox games because of Cora – I love Alex Cora," Betts said. "People think I hated it, people think I didn't wanna be there, that was all a facade."

Betts repeatedly said that he loved Boston and that he still keeps in touch with Cora and members of the Red Sox's front office. And while he said getting traded to the Dodgers was probably the "best thing that ever happened" in his life, he reiterated that the end of his time with the Red Sox came down to business decisions.

"Business is business – people try and you cannot blend (it with personal), you just cannot do it," Betts said. "As bad as I want to, you can't do it. And once you try and do it, that's when not the best things happen. Not necessarily bad things, but not the most optimal either. And for the best outcome for Mookie Betts and his family, I had to take care of business."

Mookie Betts says that he still enjoys watching Red Sox games, calls his decision to sign with LA “probably the best thing that ever happened in his life” and calls his decision of not extending with Boston as “just business.”

Via: @allthesmokeprod pic.twitter.com/RWE3VSS9ZL

— Boston Strong (@BostonStrong_34) January 25, 2025

Betts was an icon in Boston, going from a fringe prospect to a franchise centerpiece in a flash. He hit .301 with an .893 OPS with the Red Sox, averaging 197 hits, 28 home runs, 47 doubles, five triples, 96 RBI, 26 stolen bases and an 8.6 WAR per 162 games from 2014 through 2019.

When the Red Sox traded him away, Betts was a 27-year-old four-time All-Star with four Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, one AL MVP and one World Series win.

Betts has largely kept up the pace in Los Angeles, winning four more Silver Sluggers, two more Gold Gloves and two more World Series. He has made four All-Star teams and finished runner-up for NL MVP twice since the deal.

In a Dodgers uniform, Betts has hit .284 with a .902 OPS, averaging 179 hits, 36 home runs, 39 doubles, four triples, 100 RBI, 17 stolen bases and a 7.5 WAR per 162 games.

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