When the Los Angeles Dodgers raced toward the Yankee Stadium mound this October to create a blue pile of jubilation, the man sprinting in from right field was no stranger to the circumstances. Mookie Betts, whose hustle sparked the famous fifth inning rally and whose sacrifice fly drove in the go-ahead run in the eighth, was a World Series champion for the third time in his career.
This feat made Betts the only active position player with three World Series rings. Two active pitchers technically join him on this exclusive list – Will Smith famously won consecutive championships in 2021-2023 with three different teams and Joe Kelly collected his third ring the same moment Betts did – but Mookie’s contributions to his World Series wins dwarf the others.
Mookie’s journey to excellence
Mookie Betts secured his first World Series victory on the heels of an incredible 2018 season in which he put up 10.7 bWAR, led the league in runs, batting average, and slugging percentage, and easily won the MVP award. That performance and Series win came, of course, with the Boston Red Sox, the franchise that drafted him out of high school in the fifth round of the 2011 draft.
As a small, scrappy middle infielder without much power – in his first minor league season, he hit zero home runs in 71 games – he was often overlooked, but his athleticism was always apparent. Despite his size, he was a standout basketball player in high school, and his bowling prowess has continued through his baseball career.
Mookie strikes again. pic.twitter.com/MGuhAWUByT
— MLB (@MLB) February 4, 2019
After adding some power to his excellent contact and baserunning skills, he shot through the Red Sox farm system and debuted in 2014 at 21 years old. With franchise icon Dustin Pedroia entrenched at second base, he transitioned to the outfield that year without a hitch. By 2016, Betts had established himself as one of the best in baseball, a true "five-tool" player with very few weaknesses.
From 2016-2019 he averaged 8.5 bWAR per season with the aforementioned MVP and a runner-up showing. This run of success promised him a monumental contract when he was due to become a free agent after the 2020 season. In a move largely seen as a huge mistake from the moment it happened, Boston decided a potential extension would be too pricey and instead shipped him to Los Angeles.
At the time, it appeared Betts would be a Dodger for one season before testing free agency. However, the COVID pandemic tossed a wrench into MLB’s market and Betts opted for security amidst uncertain times. He signed a 12-year, $365 million extension with the Dodgers the day before 2020’s delayed Opening Day.
A little over three months later, Betts celebrated his second World Series win in his first season in LA after another MVP runner-up campaign. Since then, he has continued his league domination – albeit with significant time lost to injuries in 2021 and 2024, when he was limited to 122 and 116 games, respectively.
When healthy, he is still a multi-faceted superstar, as a threat at the plate, on the bases, and in the field. He added a third MVP runner-up in 2023 and a fifth-place finish in 2022. He has even demonstrated his unique talents by transitioning back to second base and even shortstop per the Dodgers’ defensive needs. It’s not normal for a utility player to put up a 145 OPS+, but Betts is not normal.
How does he stack up against his peers?
Mookie is only 32 years old, but if he retired today, he would be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Since debuting in 2014, he tops the bWAR leaderboard with 69.6, beating out all-time great Mike Trout by about three wins. Besides Trout, he has a full 15 WAR lead on the rest of his batter contemporaries, and bests the top pitcher, Max Scherzer, by 13.3.
Among all hitters in baseball history, he is 24th all-time in bWAR through their age-31 season. For those who debuted in the 21st century, he ranks third, behind only Trout and Albert Pujols. There are 95 current Hall of Famers who have at least as many career plate appearances and less career bWAR than Betts already does.
In a Hall of Fame projection metric developed by Jay Jaffe called JAWS (Jaffe WAR Score), a player’s career WAR is averaged with his WAR accrued over his best seven-year peak. This helps balance the scales for superstars who were late bloomers or early burnouts. JAWS values are typically compared by position, since different positions inherently carry different Hall of Fame thresholds of quality.
Among right fielders, Betts is already eighth on the all-time JAWS leaderboard, ahead of well-known heroes such as Reggie Jackson, Tony Gwynn, and Ichiro Suzuki. The players in front of him are all-time greats, and though he won’t approach the heights of legends such as Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron, or Stan Musial, his mere proximity to them is a testament to his success.
Betts has eight years remaining on his current deal. Assuming he plays out the contract, he would only need to average about 4 bWAR per season to reach 100 for his career, about 28.6 home runs to reach 500, and about 173.1 hits to reach 3000. Of course, he’s already dealt with some injuries and natural aging will happen, but these milestones are certainly within reach.
Even if he falls off, his ticket to Cooperstown has already been punched. As seen on the JAWS leaderboard linked above, the average Hall of Fame right fielder (with Mookie’s values listed in parentheses) has 70 career bWAR (69.6), a 42.2 seven-year peak (55.0), a 56.1 JAWS score (62.3), and 5.0 bWAR/162 (8.2).
His trophy case also contains a plentiful collection, with eight All-Star selections, six Gold Glove awards, seven Silver Sluggers, and most importantly the three World Series rings. Of those ahead of him on the JAWS list, only Ruth and Musial have as many championships under their belts. For good measure, he is also tied for the most 3-home run games in MLB history.
There is constant debate on how to quantify the greatness of a baseball career, especially in the weights applied to individual success and contributions to team success. For Mookie Betts, there’s no reason to draw that line. With countless accolades decorating his own mantle alongside the commanding presence of three team championships (so far), Betts is unquestionably among baseball’s immortals – and the only place to go is up.