WATCH: Dodgers’ Mookie Betts turns double play in first career chance at shortstop

Los Angeles Dodgers famous person Mookie Betts returned from the paternity listing in time to look motion in his crew’s sport in opposition to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday evening — a 6-2 win for the Dodgers — and for the first time in his major-league career Betts noticed time at the shortstop place. 

Betts pinch-hit for Luke Williams in the highest of the 7th, notched a unmarried after which changed Williams at brief for the ground part of the inning. The ball did not in finding Betts in that body. However, in the 8th Betts were given his first career fielding chance at probably the most top rate place at the diamond, and he grew to become a double play:

Prior to Thursday, Betts hadn’t gave the impression in a sport at brief since 2013, when he used to be a 20-year-old prospect in the Red Sox device. Overall, Betts performed simply 14 video games at brief as a minor leaguer. While Betts does have MLB enjoy in the center infield at 2d base, he is spent simply 263 defensive innings there in his career. By comparability, Betts has spent greater than 9,000 defensive innings in the outfield throughout his 10-year big-league career. 

It’s now not ceaselessly 30-year-old avid gamers seem at a place like shortstop for the first time, however Betts has the talent, athleticism and baseball smarts to tug it off, which is why Dodgers supervisor Dave Roberts flloated the idea earlier this week:

“Yeah, there’s an opportunity… we’ll see… there’s a chance I might slide him over to short. It’s a possibility, we’ll see. … he’s been clamoring for quite some time, so we’ll see how it plays out.” 

The Dodgers have had uncertainty at brief all season due to the torn ACL suffered by way of Gavin Lux all the way through spring coaching. As smartly, fill-ins Mguel Rojas and Chris Taylor were coping with well being problems in recent times. They not too long ago known as up Williams to look time at the location, however he is stretched as a major-league common. That ended in Betts getting a chance. 

Betts is an achieved hitter and base-runner, and he is gained six Gold Gloves as an outfielder. As such, any more or less baseball excellence from Betts should not marvel, however let’s make an exception for what opened up at Wrigley Field on Thursday evening.