Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Mookie Betts is in the midst of his third season with the team.
While his first two seasons with Los Angeles were very productive, his 2022 campaign has been arguably his best year yet with the Dodgers.
The 29-year-old is playing at an extremely high level, and with his help, the Dodgers have been the best team in baseball this season by a mile.
All year long, Betts has had a huge hand in L.A.’s success.
But since the beginning of August, the six-time All-Star has turned it up a notch and been virtually unstoppable.
He’s showing no signs of slowing down.
On A Tear
Betts has appeared in 38 games since the start of August.
During that span, he has maintained a spectacular slash line of .303/.365/.651, giving him an OPS of 1.016.
In the same stretch, he has launched 11 home runs, 16 doubles, and two triples.
Mookie Betts 😤🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/63o8auI7FO
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) September 13, 2022
With the playoffs quickly approaching, Betts is heating up at the perfect time for Los Angeles.
The team would love nothing more than to have him firing on all cylinders when the playoffs arrive.
Betts’ Season Overall
The 2022 season has been another special one for Betts.
Year in and year out, he reminds fans why he’s regarded as one of the best players in baseball.
This season, he’s batting .277 with an OPS of .911.
He also has an OPS+ of 145, which is the third-best mark of his career in that category.
He has racked up 34 home runs, 34 doubles, and three triples, with his 34 homers marking a new career-best for him.
Mookie Betts now has a career-high 34 homers. The pace that he’s on has him getting to 39 homers.
— Dodger Insider (@DodgerInsider) September 13, 2022
Perhaps above all else, he has a bWAR of 6.4, which is his best single-season mark since he joined the Dodgers (although it’s worth noting that his bWAR in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season likely would have been massive in a typical year).
His bWAR this year could end up around the 7.6 ballpark depending on how many games he plays in before the end of the regular season.
The former MVP is doing his thing, and the Dodgers are loving every bit of it.
No Stress In L.A.
While many teams around the majors are scrambling for postseason positioning right now, that’s not the case for the Dodgers.
The team boasts a wild record of 97-43 and can clinch the NL West with a win or a San Diego Padres loss on Tuesday.
After that, L.A. can pretty much take it easy for the rest of the regular season.
Of course, the team should still play with a little urgency in order to lock up MLB’s best record, but realistically, there are no teams in the league with records that are within striking distance of L.A.’s.
Perhaps the biggest challenge the Dodgers will face over the remainder of the regular season will be finding ways to keep the intensity levels up so that postseason play doesn’t sneak up on them.
But that’s a fine problem to have to figure out, and it’s a luxurious position to be in.
Soon enough, playoff baseball will arrive, and the Dodgers will be looking for their second title in a span of three years.
