Mookie Betts Shows Rare Candor About His Struggles at Shortstop

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been rolling of late, taking three of four games against the Cincinnati Reds in their most recent series. Los Angeles has put together efficient baseball, finding different ways to win ball games.

One reason for this has been the play of star Mookie Betts, who assumed the full-time shortstop role just before the start of the year. Betts was primed to be the second baseman all offseason but switched over at the last minute due to consistent throwing issues by infielder Gavin Lux.

While Betts has performed better than expected, he has seen some issues come up of late. Some costly errors and dropped balls have raised questions about his long-term fit for the position. Betts recently opened up about what he had learned about playing the position, saying that it's very hard.

“This is really hard. It’s really, really hard,” Betts said of the main thing he has learned about playing shortstop at the major-league level. “It is what it is. Gotta do it. I enjoy doing it, but the main thing is that it’s really, really hard.”

Betts always strives for perfection and that tends to have him being a little harder on himself than he needs to be. His evaluation of his progress likely isn't a fair assessment; it's simply an indication he wants to get better.

“I think it’s been not very good,” he said of his play in the field. “It’s a work in progress. It’s my first time doing it in a long time. You have to start somewhere and at least with me feeling like I’m on the lower end, there’s nowhere to go but up from here.”

Los Angeles has been linked to some shortstops via trade. For now — and likely through the trade deadline, according to president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman — Betts is the guy. With the trade deadline still two months away, Betts will continue working on his performance.

“But it’s good. I enjoy it,” he said of the challenge. “Sometimes it’s good to get hit in the mouth a lot. But it is what it is. Take it on the chin and keep it moving.”

The former MVP is embracing the challenge thrust in from of him and has done his best so far. For the sake of the Dodgers, Betts might need to stay at shortstop until or unless a better option arises.