Dodgers: 3 reasons Mookie Betts will outperform Mike Trout this season

Mookie Betts and Mike Trout are both very good, but the Los Angeles Dodger might be better this season.

For everything lost from the 2020 MLB season, fans will gain something special, as the Los Angeles Dodgers and Mookie Betts are set to face-off against the Los Angeles Angels and Mike Trout six times this year.

That means 1/10th of the Dodgers’ schedule will come against their freeway counterparts. A natural rivalry that became a lot more interesting this offseason as perhaps the only player who has come close to matching Mike Trout’s greatness arrived in Chavez Ravine.

While there is no debate that Trout remains the best player in all of baseball—he has proven himself year, after year, after year. For individual seasons, Mookie Betts has already made the argument for being considered the game’s top player.

Betts’ 2018 campaign for the Red Sox won him the American League MVP after he batted .346/.438/.640 with 32 home runs and Gold Glove Award winning defense in the outfield. He received 28 first place votes for the MVP Award that season, while Trout, who also had a spectacular year, only received one.

So as we look ahead at the 2020 season that we hope can be safely played amid the coronavirus pandemic, could Betts do it again? Could he outperform Trout this season?

Over a 60-game schedule, anything can happen. Here are three reasons why the former AL MVP could prove he’s the best player in baseball once again.

Why Betts will outperform Trout: Incentive

For all of the stats or sabermetrics we could use to project why Mookie Betts could outperform Mike Trout this year, we start with something a bit old-fashioned: incentive.

Betts has a lot riding on the 2020 season. He is on a new team where he is trying to find a place among a lineup that includes the 2019 National League MVP in Cody Bellinger. And while the market conditions have dramatically changed since he was traded from Boston, Betts is looking to prove why he is worth a contract on par with the one Mike Trout recently received with the Angels.

Do these things add up to incentive or pressure? Perhaps Betts will squeeze the bat too tight and struggle to impress his new fanbase in Los Angeles. But I don’t think so. The former Boston Red Sox is used to playing under the bright lights and scrutiny of Fenway, which you could argue is the most intense environment in all of baseball. He won’t wither playing in empty stadiums across America.

Trout already signed his lifetime contract. He has proven everything there is to prove in the game. That is not to suggest he is unmotivated to continue his path of greatness toward the Hall-of-Fame, but perhaps the extra motivation in front of Betts will prove the difference in pushing him to the top of the game once again.

Why Betts will outperform Trout: Unusual schedule

No matter how you break it down, the 2020 MLB season will be different than any we have witnessed before. Instead of a 162-game marathon, it will be a 60-game sprint to the finish.

Baseball is a funny sport. Over a large sample of games, players usually find their performance meets the back of their baseball cards. But over a shorter sample, there is room for variance, anything can happen.

Mookie Betts has already proven that he can compete toe-to-toe with Mike Trout just two seasons ago. Who will be better in 2020? It could come down to who stays healthy and who gets hot at the right time. Whether Trout is one notch ahead of Betts as an overall player, we can argue another time. Over a compressed schedule, that difference might not manifest itself in the numbers.

Both players will probably have great seasons. Trout is projected by FanGraphs to produce 3.3 wins, while Betts is targeted for 2.2. That’s based on historical numbers and a projection model that wasn’t designed to account for the uncertainty created from a once-in-a-generation playing environment.

We will find out who is better soon enough, but don’t count me surprised if Betts outperforms Trout when all is said and done.