Mookie Betts: ‘It was weird’ wearing Dodger blue at first

What was it like for Mookie Betts to wear a Los Angeles Dodgers jersey for the first time after being traded from the Red Sox?

Mookie Betts, who was acquired in one of the wildest and most complicated trades of the offseason, said “it was weird” wearing Dodger blue for the first time in Spring Training after spending the past six seasons in Boston, the only Major League franchise he had ever known.

The 2018 American League MVP was acquired in a blockbuster deal in February that sent Betts and starting pitcher, David Price, to Los Angeles in exchange for Alex Verdugo and two Dodger prospects (Jeter Downs and Connor Wong).

“It was weird, man. It was weird,” Betts told Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis on Wednesday. “It took my mom calling to say that ‘you look good, you look good in blue’ before I accepted it.”

The right fielder, who Dodger fans hope to see on the field in 2020, whether at Dodger Stadium or sequestered in Arizona, said his teammates quickly made him feel at home after the initial adjustment period.

On the 73rd anniversary of Jackie Robinson making his Brooklyn Dodger debut to break the Major League color barrier, Betts reflected on the significance of wearing a Dodgers jersey the next time the league celebrates Jackie Robinson Day by having each player wear #42.

“Obviously it’s a super special thing to be wearing his number in general,” Betts said. “But to know that you’re wearing that same jersey […] the same Dodger blue […] it just means more. It’s kind of a feeling inside, something you necessarily can’t explain.”

With Betts set to become a free agent after the 2020 season, whether games are played or not, fans can only hope he is wearing Dodger blue on April 15, 2021.

The 27-year-old said he didn’t truly understand Robinson’s impact on baseball and society until the movie 42 was released in 2013. After watching the film, he started studying up on the former Dodger’s life and career.

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While Betts waits for baseball to return, he has been spending his free time taking walks and playing Maddon, the video game, in General Manager mode. He joked that he has a new appreciation for front office executives.