Nashville’s Mookie Betts has secured his third World Series ring.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Nashville native and baseball superstar Mookie Betts joined an elite group on Wednesday night.
The John Overton High School alum is now the only active position player in Major League Baseball to have won three World Series championships. His latest victory came with the Dodgers, who won Game 5 against the Yankees 7-6 in New York.
This championship marks the eighth for Los Angeles and their second in the last four years, with Betts being part of both teams. In 2020, the Dodgers capitalized on a shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. This year, it only took them five games to eliminate the Yankees, and Betts played a crucial role in their success.
Betts was involved in one of the most controversial plays of the season during Game 3 on Tuesday night. While chasing a ball in right field, he encountered two Yankees fans. As he leaped, his glove partially went over the wall, and the fans grabbed his glove, yanking the baseball free from its webbing.
Despite the ball falling back onto the field, the catch was credited to Betts. The fans involved were subsequently escorted from Yankee Stadium and banned from attending Game 5.
At the plate, Betts went 5-for-18 in the series against New York but contributed the decisive run in Game 5 with a crucial sacrifice fly to center field in the eighth inning. His fist pump as he left the batter’s box indicated how significant that run was.
Betts, a proud alumnus of John Overton High School, excelled in both basketball and baseball. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2011 Amateur Baseball Draft by the Boston Red Sox, choosing to forgo a college career at the University of Tennessee. He later became the American League’s Most Valuable Player in 2018 after winning his first World Series with the Red Sox.
Now that the baseball offseason has begun, Betts is expected to focus on giving back to the community. His 5050 Foundation works to develop sports programs for youth in underrepresented areas and encourages children to engage in sports.
