Mookie Betts Is Simply Amazing
Few players in this generation have put up the kind of numbers that Mookie Betts has put up. He's a seven-time All-Star who has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting many times, including running away with the award in 2018. Mookie's 2018 campaign was one of the greatest individual seasons in recent memory. Since being traded to the Dodgers, all he's done is make the All-Star team in every full season in which he's been there. He led all of baseball in Wins Above Replacement in the Covid year, helping the Dodgers win their first world championship since 1988, and now at the age of 30, he's once again having one of his best seasons.
One of my hot takes is that, despite all the accolades, I still feel like Mookie Betts is somewhat underrated. I know that sounds bizarre when we're talking about a guy who's won an MVP, but I think many people talk about Mookie Betts as if he's one of the best players of his generation. He's not just that. Mookie Betts is one of the greatest baseball players ever. Given how he's going right now, he has a legitimate shot to be a 100 WAR player. 
The National League MVP race is heating up. I know that the Braves are having this historically great offensive season. They deserve all the accolades they received. The last thing I will do is sit here and act like this year's Atlanta Braves are overrated. It's one of the greatest offenses ever assembled. With that said, by the time we got to May, it seemed like people excepted that it was a foregone conclusion that Ronald Acuña Jr. would run away with the MVP award. Right now, Mookie is playing his way into the conversation.
One problem is that Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts's teammate, has also played his way into that conversation. There's a possibility that those two guys could split votes. I'm not going to sit here and say that Acuna won't be deserving of the National League MVP award, but when you look at the year that Mookie Betts is having, this is special. He's one of the greatest baseball players ever, having one of the finest seasons of his career. It's not even September, and Mookie Betts already has more home runs and RBIs than he had during his MVP season in 2018, and he's still an elite corner outfielder.
Mookie's month of August has been otherworldly. In 18 games, he has a batting average of .409 and OPS of 1.250. He's homered seven times in 18 games, and remember, The Dodgers are a ridiculous 16-2 in that stretch. I have my question marks about what their pitching may look like once we get to October. I don't know if that rotation will hold. But for right now, the Los Angeles Dodgers go as Mookie Betts does. Him and Freddie Freeman have carried this team.
It doesn't hurt that Mookie Betts is just cool, man. The guy is always rocking the chain. He keeps himself in great shape. Mookie Betts is one of those players who could've played any sport and probably been an All-Star. He's a once-in-a-generation athlete. I'm just glad that he chose baseball. I just like to give credit where credit is due. I think we can all agree Shohei Ohtani is probably the most talented baseball player of all time. Still, sometimes we put all of our eggs into that basket that we forget the fact that there are multiple first-ballot Hall of Famers in Major League Baseball. Mookie Betts is definitely one of them.