Mookie Betts of Red Sox Wins MVP Award

The Boston Red Sox had a magical year in 2018. They won their fourth World Series title since 2004. They also won 108 games during the regular season. This is the most games that the franchise has won in its long and storied history. However, the accolades do not end there. Outfielder Mookie Betts was given the American League Most Valuable Player Award for his brilliant season. This is the first time that Betts has achieved this honor. He hit .346 and blasted 32 homers. He and JD Martinez made for a formidable duo that tormented most pitchers all season.

Betts also had a great season in the field. He is considered to be one of the best defensive outfielders in the game. He also has speed to boot. He stole 30 bases. This made him the first guy to hit 30 homers and steal 30 bases in the same season in six years. There is seemingly nothing Betts can’t do. The MVP award was well deserved. There were 30 ballots cast and he received first place votes on 28 of them. The scary thing about Betts is that he is only going to get better if he can avoid having any serious injuries that cause him to miss any long periods of time. He is just now entering his prime.

Betts can’t become a free agent until after the 2020 season. The Red Sox have a big decision to make. They need to lock Betts up to a long-term contract. However, the price tag is going to be enormous considering that Betts is only 24. The money offered by Boston would need to be big enough to make Betts want to avoid testing the free agent market to see what other offers are out there. Losing Betts as a free agent would be a crippling blow to the Red Sox franchise.

The scary thing about the 2018 season that Mookie Betts had is that it could have been even better. He missed 26 games because of injury. He still managed to score 129 runs. That was the highest total in Major League Baseball. He won the batting title in the American League. He also had the highest slugging percentage in the majors. There is really nothing negative you can say about the splendid season turned in by Betts. He did everything right and helped his team win a title after a record-setting regular season.