Mookie Betts highlights: Dodgers star plays shortstop for the first time in win vs. Cubs

Mookie Betts has accomplished a lot in his remarkable baseball career – two-time World Series champion, six-time All-Star, 2018 AL MVP, even a batting title. But, despite initially coming up through the Boston Red Sox system as a second baseman, there was one thing Betts had never done in his 10 years as a Major Leaguer: play shortstop.

Until Thursday night, that is. With Gavin Lux already lost for the year and Miguel Rojas a recent addition to the injured list, the Dodgers have found themselves so thin at the position that they've had to start Luke Williams, a former Philadelphia Phillies castoff with a career OPS of .605.

Betts had been lobbying manager Dave Roberts to give him a try at the 6, and after battling several hours of traffic on his way to Wrigley Field as he returned from the paternity list, he finally got his chance against the Chicago Cubs. With the the teams tied at two in the seventh inning, Roberts pinch-hit Betts for Williams, giving Betts his first chance as an MLB shortstop – and his first real reps at the position at all since the Arizona Fall League in 2013.

Of course, because he's Mookie Betts, he immediately did this:

Shortstop @mookiebetts just turned a double play!

Yes, THAT Mookie Betts. pic.twitter.com/uVpbmGRw9d

– MLB (@MLB) April 21, 2023

  
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