Mookie Bets is no stranger to the concrete jungles of New York. We're at
Yankee Stadium, Dodgers here for the first time since twenty sixteen, Mookie Bets
and a Dodger uniform at Yankee Stadium for the first time. I know everybody's
excited about this series, but how do you feel about it, knowing that
you're in this uniform for the first time in this stadium. I mean,
I feel good about it. I mean I don't think the uh. I
think that the rivalry is still still pretty close to the same. Obviously Red
Sox Yankees is that's uncomparable. But I think with both teams and both teams
being pretty good, I think the game, the atmosphere would be pretty similar
to to Red Sox Yankees. What was the reception for Mookie Bets when he
came here as a Red Sox. Oh, it wasn't anything good. Every
time you stepped foot in the Yankee Stadium is nothing good. But you know,
it's always fun coming here. And you know, I'm friends with a
lot of those guys over there, and we understand the competition and we know
that that's what makes it fun. Moki in the NBA. You know,
sometimes you have guys measure themselves against other guys, Kobe, d Wade,
Lebron, Kobe, Magic Bird, all that stuff. Do you ever measure
yourself to see what Judge or Sodo is doing or anybody else in the league.
Nah, I can't do what those guys do. I mean, I'm
not. I'm five to nine, one hundred and seventy pounds, you know,
So it's I can't do anything at six eight two fifty or whatever how
much he weighs or want Soto who's yea, what six one sixty two and
he weighs two thirty twenty two thirty. So there's there's nothing I can do
that they can do. Or yeah that that that that they already do.
So there's no sense in really trying to compare my skill set to theirs.
Well, I feel it's the opposite. They can't do what Mooki bets can
do. How many players in Major League Baseball superstars can do what you've done
the last two years right field, second base and now shortstop and also last
year hit thirty nine home runs. See, I'm looking at it the other
way. Guys can't do what Mooki bets can do. Yeah, I mean,
you know, it is what it is. I do what I can
to help us win. Then, you know, I was just kind of
blessed with the skill set. And you know, guys that are five nine
one seven, he probably can move around a little easier than somebody of their
their stature. But you know what, different bodies come with different skill sets.
I love what you said after the game yesterday, You're feeling like you're
twenty one or twenty two years old. Why are you feeling that way?
Oh, I'm just obviously eating really good, making sure the engine is going,
and then just my workouts and just taking extra time to take care of
my body, you know. And as you get a little older, there's
things that you got to do that to make sure you can keep going,
you know. And I just had a lot of experience seeing people, seeing
some do it the right way, see some and some some do it.
I wouldn't say not the right way, but a different way. And so
I just have some experience with seeing things, and so I'm just trying to
h to make sure I take care of myself. It comes to a certain
stage of everybody's life right where you you can't just eat McDonald's every day.
Yeah, that's exactly what it is. You can't can can't be eating something
like now, I don't. I try not to eat after like twelve o'clock.
You know, it's hard. It's hard, you know, because you
know we're getting home at eleven o'clock and whatnot, and I just try to
eat light mills that late. You know. It's weird. You know when
you're when you're young, you can just eat the two or three in the
morning and nothing right. But if I do that now, I'm screwed for
us today. So I gotta like you gotta roll with the changes, Mookie.
I've enjoyed your podcasts going back to last year. And I think you
told me that when you interviewed Aaron Judge last year that was really the first
time you've ever had an extended conversation with him. What did you find out
about him during that interview that you were surprised about or you have more appreciation
for nothing? Really? I mean, I think you know we've had that
was probably the longest sit down we've actually had to have but gotten to have.
But you know, playing against him here and then a couple of All
Star Games you know, being on the same side, We've had some good
conversations, and that's probably nothing new that I really got to learn. I
mean, you know, we all know who he is, and he's he's
a pretty open book about himself, and so I just know he's an awesome
dude and he's a he's doing things the right way for sure. So another
guest you had was one of your own teammates, Tyler Glass Now, a
couple of weeks ago, and he flapped open his bottom lip to show you
a tattoo. Do you look at Glass now any differently now? Nah?
I honestly forgot about it. No, I would. I would space out
on that too. I would try to block that out as well. Yeah.
No, it's it's new, isn't he. It shows you another another
layer of glass that you most people don't know you know, and nothing that
you may use, you may use, you may not use. But it's
something that is definitely good to know, Mookie. I know you're harder on
yourself than anybody else, but aren't you proud of what you've accomplished so far?
It feels like I told you this a couple of weeks ago as well.
Whenever things don't go smoothly at short. People want to point it out,
but I would say nine games out of ten things are going smoothly for
you. So are you proud of that to this point? Yeah, I'm
definitely. I'm super proud of myself for, first of all, just taking
on the challenge because a lot of people, you know, they may not
and you know that a lot of failure is gonna come with it. And
I knew that going in. You know, there's really only negatives that could
come out of it. Only positive is doing this for the team, you
know, and but you know nobody wants to. I knew people wouldn't want
me to play short and think I can't do it, and this, that
and the other, and I still accepted it. And so I'm very proud
of myself for how far I've come. And I know I have a long
long way to go, you know, I obviously you know I hate making
errors and whatnot. But I mean there's no there was no time to learn.
There's there's no lag time. I mean, as soon as I took
on the challenge, I mean, hell, it was game one, you
know, there was no spring I didn' get into spring training. I didn't
get an off season. I didn't get any of that, so I understood
it. And I know that's not an excuse. It's just I'm kind of
learning on the job, and you got to take your bumps and bruises,
and it's hard to take them, but there's no other choice. Goes back
to the first day I saw you in spring training. You had the determination
to win this year, and a lot of guys say it, but they
don't do it. So it was the Dodger's coming to you, asking you,
this will help us win, and you embrace that challenge. Yeah,
I mean it, you know, kind of is what it is. I
mean, I'm I came into the season body ready to go, everything ready
to go, and obviously I was playing second, so I knew I needed
to make sure I stay up with the moving around and whatnot. I knew
that I would be able to at least go over there and play. You
know, I didn't know how I would do how I would do. I
hadn't done it since I was eighteen, so I was skeptical just like everybody
else was. But you know, at some point you just got to embrace
those fears, embrace the failures. Embrace all that stuff and just go do
it. Mookie Bets is our guest before I let you go. Last time
we were in New York, we were at City Field, and I got
to visit with your former teammate, America's DH JD Martinez, who told me
his vision for post playing is being partners with Mookie Betts in a pickleball championship
team. Can you ever see that happening? Yeah, I definitely see that.
We'll definitely make that happens. That's one of my closest friends in the
world, and so I'll definitely make sure I make it down or we'll go
somewhere and make sure we get in a tournament somewhere, and I don't know,
we may have some videos or something to put out there, but we'll
see howest pick a ball game is. I'm curious to see it. You'd
be great. He's the big man, you're the little guy in the in
the pickle ball you know, like Shaq Kobe kind of pickleball tandem there.
You know, he doesn't move that well, MOOKI, but I'll take care
of the moving part. He just has to make sure he finishes like Shaq
does. Oh Man love it, Mookie, great talking to you and look
forward to this series and appreciate the time. I am so proud of what
you've been able to accomplish. The season of Mookie Bets continues. Thank you, Bess.