Mookie Betts is one of the best players in baseball, but he also found a way to show he’s one of the best people in baseball on Sunday.
The Los Angeles Dodgers star stepped in when Cincinnati Reds rookie TJ Friedl got his first career hit in the sixth inning. An opposing team will typically do throw the ball into the dugout if an MLB player just posted his first career hit, but Friedly did his job a little too well. His first hit was a homer into the Great American Ball Park right field stands.
Fortunately, Betts somehow had the presence of mind to quickly approach the Reds fans who had caught the ball and tell them they should throw the ball back. The Reds fans obliged, and the ball was soon in the Reds’ dugout.
One inning later, Betts brought out of his own bats, autographed, to reward the Reds fans for their generosity.
Teams will often do what they can to procure a player’s first home run ball, but it’s not often you see a player to step in to make sure a rookie gets what will surely be one of his most prized possessions.
Betts reportedly explained after the game that he remembered Friedl made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter on Saturday, so he knew his homer on Sunday would have been his first big league hit. He was originally going to give the fans a ball, but upgraded to a bat when he saw how willing the fans were to play ball.
The whole situation left the Reds with one big Mookie Betts fan in their dugout, via Dodger Insider:
“That’s just first-class. It’s incredible, just for him to do something like that. is definitely just world class for him,” Fredl said. “I want to go over there and just say thank you in person. … because it means so much. Just to get that ball back and for it to be my first home run. And just for him to know that and turn around to the fan, and I believe he traded a bat for it… it’s just incredible.”
“Chills, honestly for him to do that,” Friedl added.
The Dodgers eventually won the game 8-5, with Betts going 2-for-4 with a run and a walk. He’s in the final month of another strong season with the 96-54 Dodgers, hitting .276/.379/.508 with 21 homers.