Phillies' Walker Buehler Sends Mookie Betts Major Praise Ahead of NLDS Game 3

Oct 6, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) is safe at second base as Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts (50) is unable to hold onto the ball in the sixth inning during game two of the NLDS round for the 2025 MLB playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The miraculous Shohei Ohtani act, where he turns from an elite starting pitcher to one of the best hitters the game has ever seen in the blink of an eye, is a distracting one.

So distracting, that Mookie Betts' transformation of his own often falls to the wayside.

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After spending 10 years as an outfielder, Betts starting flirting with a position change in 2023, playing 16 games as a shortstop. That number more than quadrupled in 2024, and in 2025, all of Betts' 148 starts came as a shortstop.

"I don’t think there’s anything on this earth he can’t do," Phillies pitcher and Betts' former teammate Walker Buehler told USA TODAY Sports . "I will say it shocked me at first when I saw him move from position to position, but now I’m used to him doing it now. He’s just awesome."

Betts' play at shortstop hasn't been satisfactory, it's been excellent. Betts has the second-highest Rtot (a stat that measures how many runs a fielder has saved compared to an average fielder at their position) with 12 in the major leagues.

His skill transcends statistics, however. On Monday night, Betts and the Dodgers executed a rare wheel play, where third baseman Max Muncy fielded a bunt and Betts ran to third to cover for Muncy and get the runner out.

"Those guys executed it to perfection," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of the play.

But it was Betts, not Roberts, who came up with the idea.

“I’m going to credit Mook, it was his idea," Muncy said of the play. "He kept saying ‘we gotta go wheel play.’ A wheel play is not something we traditionally do. But me, Mook, and Tommy started talking about it and when Doc came out and made the pitching change we talked about it and everyone was on board. We talked about how we were going to do it and we executed it to perfection.”

Betts' innovative suggestion is just par for the course for a player who has played at elite levels at two very different positions.

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But, Buehler says, versatility is to be expected with Mookie Betts.

"That dude is incredible," Buehler said. "He’s great at whatever he does. He can beat you in bowling. He can beat you in golf. He can beat you at anything you can imagine.

"Really, he’s great for the game."

For more Dodgers news, head over to Dodgers on SI.