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Dodgers: Mookie Betts must choose baseball over Globetrotters in 2021

Adam Weinrib
Adam Weinrib

Dodgers Way

Mookie Betts, Los Angeles Dodgers (Photo by Ralph Freso/Getty Images)

Dodgers star Mookie Betts was drafted by the Harlem Globetrotters on Monday afternoon, so now we have to think about *that* we guess.

Fresh off a World Series championship that broke a 32-year drought, Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts was given the opportunity to join a franchise with a more consistent history of winning on Monday afternoon.

Along with Chadwick Boseman, Russell Wilson, and viral video star Sister Margaret Ann, Betts was selected by the Harlem Globetrotters in their annual draft this week, throwing a wrench into LA’s 13-year extension, signed just a few months ago.

It’s safe to say the All-Star outfielder, near-professional bowler, and apparent still-dunker has a serious decision to make.

There’s no doubt that Betts’ future would be better served in baseball — more financial security, a longer runway and higher expectations are just a few of the benefits. But Dodgers fans must now worry that, if Betts’ sole goal was to win a championship in Los Angeles, will he bolt for greener pastures now that the deed has been done, massive contract tether be damned?

After all, if Betts is all about winning, then it doesn’t get much better than rolling out of bed knowing that a guaranteed victory over the Washington Generals has already been secured.

Hypothetically, let’s say a trade materializes in the coming months. If the Globetrotters want to play hardball, then let’s play hardball. We’re not planning to go all “Red Sox” on the inter-sport trade market here. It’s going to take a lot more than an Alex Verdugo-type return to pry away our MVP finalist.

The bottom line here, though, is that Betts is a Hall-of-Fame-level baseball player, among the elite of the elite. As for his basketball skills? At best, they’re bad. We’ve never seen them. He’s an extremely athletic man, but he simply hasn’t been training for organized, stunt-based action on the hardwood.

Whether he can dunk or not is irrelevant. Betts’ comfort in the right-field confines should trump his desire to pretend to give birth to a basketball while five defenders stand stunned, bolted to the court.

No matter which direction this decision goes, Dodgers fans have just experienced something unprecedented. No other baseball franchise knows the pain of having a world-class athlete under contract and watching him entertain the virtues of another sport entirely.

Oh. Right. Yeah.

Betts’ll be a Dodger on Opening Day next year, but this is a pretty cool honor nonetheless. Time for our superstar to start working on some baseball stunts to incorporate his second job into his full-time gig.

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib

Adam Weinrib is a Content Director on the FanSided network, and has been the co-editor at Yanks Go Yard and Dodgers Way for 4 years. He also co-hosts The Baseball Insiders Podcast twice weekly, alongside FanSided MLB insider Robert Murray, as well as the Yanks Go Yard Podcast. Previously, he was a Senior Editor at 12up.com, and has been covering MLB and NFL for eight years. Previously, he was a headline and features contributor at ClickHole and Onion Sports, as well as the Associate Producer of the ESPN 30 for 30 film "Believeland". An avowed fan of the New York sports teams -- specifically the Yankees -- as well as the North Carolina Tar Heels, you can find Adam complaining mid-game on Twitter, as well as on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn if the game goes really poorly.