Mookie Betts isn't fooling Dodgers fans with aloof dismissal of Gold Glove nomination

Mookie Betts is a six-time Gold Glove winner, but exclusively for his work in the outfield. His move to shortstop last season was clumsy and, to no one's surprise, he didn't win a Gold Glove or even receive a nomination. Instead, he had Dodgers fans begging the front office to put him back in right field, especially after Teoscar Hernández's failures at the position.

This year, Betts is not only an above-average defensive shortstop, but one of the best in the game. And he did receive a Gold Glove nomination for it, alongside the Cardinals' Masyn Winn and the Braves' Nick Allen.

Betts was dismissive of the potential accolade, stating, "That's validation for y’all, not me … The goal was to be the best that I could be. Now, if that came with a Gold Glove, cool. If it didn't, cool. If I can go to bed at night knowing I did everything I could, that's all I care about."

However, at the Dodgers' FanFest back in February, Betts did admit that his goal for the season was to win a Gold Glove (admittedly, after a somewhat leading question from Doug McKain). When asked that exact question, he said, "Yeah, every time I put my glove on. My mindset is to make it gold, so it doesn't matter where it is. That's what I'm going after."

Mookie Betts is definitely happier about his Gold Glove nomination than he wants to admit to Dodgers fans

Brushing off the nomination is a team-first thing to do and a credit to Betts, but come on, man. There's nothing wrong with wanting to bask in it a little after you set expectations so high for yourself at the beginning of the season. If he really wanted to, he could use this opportunity to throw everyone's doubts right back in their faces, and no one could really blame him.

Betts' ascendence at shortstop is perhaps the most surprising development of the Dodgers' season. Dave Roberts said himself that "the only person on this planet that believed Mookie Betts would be in this conversation was Mookie Betts." (That does lead to some questions as to why the Dodgers were so stubborn in keeping at shortstop if there was little organizational faith in him, but whatever.)

Go ahead and take your victory lap, Mookie. It's well-deserved.