Can someone please explain Mookie Betts to me

[tdawg87]

Like, I know he's an incredible baseball player and has emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball this year. No question about that.

But how, in THE F*ck? He's smaller than Erick Aybar, yet he's currently sitting in the top 70 slugging seasons of all time. He just hit for the Facking cycle, and if the season ended today, he'd have the highest slugging % of any player since Pujols in 2006.

This is a guy whose highest slugging percentage before this year was .538.

Is it luck? Is it steroids? Is it Facking bullshit? Or is he really this good now?

I'm just getting sick of hearing about how he's better than Trout and I keep wanting to watch him crash and burn but he keeps hitting like Pujols in his prime.

F*ck the Red Sox.

[AngelsFaninGA]

Probably the same reason why Jacoby Ellsbury has a 32-homer season to his name while playing for the Red Sox: because he plays in a stacked lineup, in a bandbox stadium, in a division full of bandbox stadiums, and is likely on steroids just like most Red Sox players. It's no real surprise that all these magical fluke seasons happen for guys playing for certain teams, and it's never the Angels. 

[TooCool]

He doesn't have Scioscia as a manager. =P

[Troll Daddy]

Next we can explain 5’6” Jose Altuve and why the Angels turned him away

 

[Lou]

9 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Next we can explain 5’6” Jose Altuve and why the Angels turned him away

 

right, just what we need, another player on the DL 

[101halo]

He's a Moo from Key Butts in Florida, his story is pretty awesome, check out his family in the below video fighting crime:

Yeah the internet is weird and awesome.

Also, sorry, I'm bored. 

[Troll Daddy]

 

[Second Base]

He's plays 140 games a year in hitter friendly parks abandoned Trout plays 140 games a year in pitcher friendly parks.

[arch stanton]

Also in Trout's defense he never gets to hit against Angels pitching

[Blarg]

Ironically other teams don't get to hit against the Angels starters as well.

[Troll Daddy]

11 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

He's plays 140 games a year in hitter friendly parks abandoned Trout plays 140 games a year in pitcher friendly parks.

Trout has never hit a HR in Fenway Park

[Second Base]

25 minutes ago, Troll Daddy said:

Trout has never hit a HR at Fenway Park

Has he hit one in NY? How about Toronto? Baltimore? Do you think if he played for the Red Sox Trout's numbers would be cut in half because he's incapable of hitting the ball 301 foot to top the green monster?

 

[Puget Sound Angel]

If Betts played for the Rays, the national media would not care.

[bloodbrother]

More like Mookie BUTTS because he is ASS

Trout #1 forever

[beatlesrule]

I'm so glad the Angels didn't go after JD Martinez. Really dodged a bullet with the numbers he's putting up getting paid just a tad more than Upton.....

[AngelsFaninGA]

3 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

I'm so glad the Angels didn't go after JD Martinez. Really dodged a bullet with the numbers he's putting up getting paid just a tad more than Upton.....

Martinez also wouldn't be putting up the numbers he is if he signed for the Angels or most other teams. Like I said, it's no surprise that Martinez of all people happens to be the one overperforming free agent signing and also just happens to play for the Red Sox. Hosmer would probably be putting up monster numbers for them too. There's something going on there (and it's not magical superior scouting or coaching). 

[fan_since79]

If we had gotten Martinez, he would have been hit by a pitch and his hand fractured by May 15th.

Someday we'll be allowed to have good things. But yeah, why don't they pull in the fences at the Big A a bit? Not necessarily a bandbox, but something better than this pitcher's paradise.

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by fan_since79

[m0nkey]

Are ballparks really the reason why he's doing so well or is that just the excuse people come up with for players in the AL East?

[eligrba]

Mookie Betts playing for the Red Sox-Great player having a great year. Face of MLB. Special player.

Mookie Betts with any other team (except Yankees)-A player having a great year, but, is he really a great player? Time will only tell.......

[Stradling]

1 hour ago, fan_since79 said:

If we had gotten Martinez, he would have been hit by a pitch and his hand fractured by May 15th.

Someday we'll be allowed to have good things. But yeah, why don't they pull in the fences at the Big A a bit? Not necessarily a bandbox, but something better than this pitcher's paradise.

 

Yea I agree we don’t have a single good thing. 

[Inside Pitch]

10 hours ago, beatlesrule said:

I'm so glad the Angels didn't go after JD Martinez. Really dodged a bullet with the numbers he's putting up getting paid just a tad more than Upton.....

I'm so glad you brought this up because it's so relevant to the thread and it again brings to light how if the Angels had simply signed Martinez then everything would have been totally different.   The SP would have stayed healthy, the pen wouldn't have taken three months to get straightened out and most assuredly Kole Calhoun wouldn't have slumped the way he did.  

Meanwhile in reality land -- Martinez will have earned 50 mil by this time next year at which point he can opt out for an even bigger payday at which point Upton will have earned a total of 34 mil.   Upton is fine and his contract provides the Angels with cost certainty at a time when they will have bigger fish to fry ..  Trout.

5 hours ago, m0nkey said:

Are ballparks really the reason why he's doing so well or is that just the excuse people come up with for players in the AL East?

Does Betts benefit from some of the parks in the AL East -- definitely.  Is playing in the AL East masking poor offensive numbers otherwise -- Nope.   Betts is a stud.  Is he has good as he's shown this year?  I don't think anyone can say that with any level of certainty, because he's never come close to doing what he's done this year.  But he's 25 and there's reason to believe he's still getting better.

He's averaged 7.4 WAR since 2015 while posting a career OPS+ of 131 and providing elite level defense.

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Inside Pitch

[hangin n wangin]

Lol people on here hate on anyone somewhat close to Trout. I guess that's all we can do since our team Facking sucks. 

[Inside Pitch]

1 hour ago, fan_since79 said:

If we had gotten Martinez, he would have been hit by a pitch and his hand fractured by May 15th.

Someday we'll be allowed to have good things. But yeah, why don't they pull in the fences at the Big A a bit? Not necessarily a bandbox, but something better than this pitcher's paradise.

You realize that when you pull in the fences..  both teams benefit, right?   We sorta have a pitching problem in Anaheim.

Not sure if it's just the lower fence in RF, but Angel Stadium has seen the HR index rise from 0.971 in 2017, to 1.110 in 2018.  The run index has risen from 0.949 to 1.021.   So, it's not favoring pitchers when it comes to HR's and it's not played like a pitcher's park.   

Someone will likely try to argue that the reason the numbers are up is because the pitching sucks but.... the pitching was a lot worse last year.  Could it be a one year fluke -- maybe..  but the park has definitely played differently.

[Troll Daddy]

9 hours ago, Scotty@AW said:

Has he hit one in NY? How about Toronto? Baltimore? Do you think if he played for the Red Sox Trout's numbers would be cut in half because he's incapable of hitting the ball 301 foot to top the green monster?

 

 I was just saying ... no need to crap on Betts because he plays in Boston. 

 

[krAbs]

Eh, even with park factors, Trout and Betts are in a dead heat this year. Trout has the edge with a 195 OPS+, but Betts is sitting on a 191 OPS+. They have identical dWAR, and Trout is beating Betts by .3 bWAR (both of which should be park weighted). The difference is that Trout does this every year, and Betts is looking like he is having a career year. Lets talk again in 7 years - if Betts has looked this good each year, then the conversation makes sense.

Its funny. Every year there is a new challenger, so its like...some player having a career year, vs Mike Trout being average Mike Trout. Its been Harper, its been Judge, its been Betts, its been Cabrera, its been Altuve- hell, in 2013 it was McCutchen. Its one thing to put up an amazing season once, but its silly to compare it to the guy who does it every single year.