There is a growing divide in the Dodgers, one that no box score can fully capture. While Shohei Ohtani arrived as the team’s $700 million headline, it is Mookie Betts who is shouldering the unglamorous work, keeping the Dodgers afloat. One is the global superstar, the other is grinding through defensive transformation and lineup reshuffles without complaint.

Even though Shohei Ohtani is elite at the plate, he has remained sidelined from the mound. And so, concerns were piling up. And now, Betts has moved to shortstop for the team, and that sacrifice is now beginning to reshape the narrative around their legacies.

The Dodgers did not just pay for Ohtani’s bat, they banked on his two-way effectiveness to reshape the team. There is no doubt that he has that power. Well, he has again proved that with his recent 20 home runs feat, hasn’t he? However, he has been absent from pitching since August 2023 because of a second elbow surgery. With each passing game, the scrutiny intensifies.

Now, Julian McWilliams said on Baseball Isn’t Boring, “Otani can not even freaking pitch. All right?” That stinger did not come out of the blue. It is rooted in frustration over unmet expectations.

What makes that sting louder is what Betts is doing in silence. Once a Gold Glove right fielder, the star has now shifted to baseball’s most grueling position to stabilize the team’s defense in transition. Such a switch is not just related to versatility. It is a physical and mental grind that is quietly draining Betts’ offensive output.

“Playing shortstop is going to take away from some of the hits he has, right? I mean, your legs are dead… you’re engaged in every pitch,” McWilliams pointed out.

It is not just related to switching gloves—it is related to leadership. “They did not win anything till Mookie got there,” McWilliams added, framing Mookie Betts as the heartbeat of the roster. He is out there every day, batting second, taking grounders, mentoring, and holding the team together. That is not flash, it is a sacrifice. Betts left behind right field, where he had earned Gold Gloves. And now, he is playing in a position he had not played regularly since high school.

“You are a huge reason why I am playing short. I wanted you to come back,” Betts said to Hernández on his On Base with Mookie Betts podcast. Betts moved not because it was easy, but because he believed Hernández made the team better. The contrast could not be sharper: Ohtani draws the headlines, but it is Betts who is lifting the weight, and that is where the friction begins to simmer.

At 32, Betts is doing the “absurd,” McWilliams marveled. “I do not even care if it works out or not… the fact that he can do it so his team can survive is absurd to me at the age he’s doing it.” All while Shohei Ohtani, arguably MLB’s greatest unicorn, was sidelined from the pitcher’s mound.

The optics are not lost on fans. When the going gets tough, it is not always related to talent. It is related to presence, and in that regard, Mookie Betts is redefining what it is to be the team’s most vital star.

But that doesn’t mean Shotime is any less… right?

Shohei Ohtani shuts down doubters with historic homer barrage

Just days after a boiling take from the Red Sox legend, Shohei Ohtani provided the best possible rebuttal, one launched off his bat and into the Cleveland night sky. Against the Guardians, Shohei Ohtani hit his 20th homer of the season, making him the first player in MLB to hit that spot in 2025. The opposite-field rocket capped a three-game homer streak and put him two clear of Aaron Judge, Kyle Schwarber, and Cal Raleigh.

But this was not just a league lead, it was franchise history. Ohtani became only the third Dodger ever to reach 20 bombs within the first 55 games, linking Gil Hodges and Cody Bellinger in an elite club. No press conference. No tweet. Just outcomes.

But it was not just critics from the media he responded to, it was Manny Ramirez. “Look at Shohei Ohtani, who is one of the best after me,” said Ramirez, as shared by insider Héctor Gómez. While Ramirez’s words may have been half praise, they were also half a challenge.

Ramirez had power, sure, 555 homers to prove it, but he never ran, pitched, or redefined the boundaries of a single roster place. Ohtani, on the other hand, is doing it all. He’s carried on with dominance at the plate while rehabbing from elbow surgery. And that speaks louder than any doubter could. In every at-bat, he is answering the question: What more do you want from one athlete?

But still, Shohei Ohtani may be seizing the headlines with jaw-dropping power and historic milestones, Mookie Betts is the one reconsidering what leadership looks like inside the Dodgers franchise. As Ohtani inches closer to retrieve his two-way crown, Betts continues to grind, lead, and sacrifice, often without fanfare.

Sure, this is not a competition. But it is definitely a reminder that championship teams require both spectacle and substance. Keep watching, because the best version of this Dodgers duo might still be on the horizon.

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