Mookie Betts Interview: Star Shortstop Embraces Relaxed Approach to 2026 Spring Training
Normal" Spring Training for the First Time in Years
CAMELBACK RANCH, AZ — Mookie Betts’ spring opener didn’t come right away. And it didn’t come with a box-score payoff. In the team’s tenth game, a sharp infield play took a hit away from him in the first, and his second trip ended with a groundout. Still, the day still checked an important box for the Dodgers’ shortstop: he felt prepared, he liked the swings he took, and he trusts the work he put in during the offseason.
Betts said the club laid out its plan for him and he was on board right away. “The team and I kind of talked… [they] let me know what the plan was… and I said okay.” When he was asked about having a less intense offseason, he didn’t act like it had to be one thing or the other. “I enjoyed both to be honest. I enjoy working. And I enjoy chilling. So whichever one I was cool with either way.”
A big theme was knowing when the work is done and letting it show up in games. Betts said he still got his defensive reps in and kept working on the back fields, but he also understood there’s a point where more is just more. “I put in so much work at some point you just got to let it do its thing. It’s only so many ground balls you can really take. I think I took enough of them last year.”
The phrase he kept coming back to was “rewiring,” and he explained it as getting back to his foundation as a hitter. “Just going back to the basics… and building it back up,” he said, calling it mostly about his offense: “Definitely mostly hitting… mostly just hitting rewind, getting back to bases.” When reporters asked what that looks like day to day, Betts framed it as leaning into strengths instead of living in constant repair mode. “Going back to what I do best and really just honing in on it instead of trying to fix problems… groove those patterns instead of trying to fix old habits.”
Betts also gave an honest window into how last season sat with him. He said the frustration wasn’t just about a stat line. It was about feeling like he wasn’t carrying his share until later, when he could contribute the way he expects of himself. “I was upset until I was able to help the team. Once I was able to help the boys, all was fine,” he said. “Before that, I was really upset… not being able to help, not doing my job, carrying my weight. Once I was able to do stuff, especially later on in the season… I was able to… say, you did pretty good.”
That’s where the “work smarter” part came in. Betts described reaching a point where sheer volume wasn’t the answer. “There’s nothing really more you can do,” he said. “What am I going to work harder? I think that doesn’t… obviously wasn’t working… so, say work smarter. Sure.” And he made it clear this winter felt different because of that shift. “I was able to kind of rewire and I feel like I did work smarter this off season and I feel like I’m in a really good spot.”
Even with the 0-for-2 line in his first spring game, Betts sounded encouraged by the quality of the at-bats. “Even today, I know I had a 0-for2, but I feel like I took two good swings,” he said. “I was prepared, ready to go. So, I can’t ask for more than what I’ve been doing.” He also said this kind of full teardown-and-rebuild approach was new for him after a season like last year: “No. Never had [to]… so there’s a first for everything… the most important thing is I feel like I embraced it and I was able to attack it.”
When Dave Roberts recently mentioned expecting an offensive bounce-back and an MVP-level version of Betts, Mookie met it with the same straight-ahead confidence he’d been showing all day. “That’s what I expect,” he said. Then he explained why it feels real to him right now. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time. The way I feel now… healthy, swing’s in a really good spot, head’s in a really good spot. I haven’t had any bad days in the cage. Haven’t had any bad days BP.” And the line that probably matters most in March: “Usually by now I would have taken a thousand swings trying to fix stuff and trying to get game ready. And now I’m just cruising… and I’m ready to go.”
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