{"id":936716,"date":"2026-10-17T18:28:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-17T18:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/936716\/"},"modified":"2026-10-17T18:28:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-17T18:28:17","slug":"mookie-betts-sends-direct-message-to-dodgers-fans-after-disappointing-nlcs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/936716\/","title":{"rendered":"Mookie Betts Sends Direct Message to Dodgers Fans After Disappointing NLCS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9u\">Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts addressed the team&#8217;s fanbase following their<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/dodgers\/onsi\/dodgers-swept-brewers-face-long-offseason-major-questions\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> National League Championship Series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. <\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"9z\">Betts took to Instagram to send a heartfelt message to Dodgers fans, vowing that the team will do what it can to get back to the mountaintop. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a4\">\u201cThis season didn\u2019t end the way we wanted, but I just want to say thank you to everyone who supported us along the way,\u201d Betts wrote in an Instagram post.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"a9\">\u201cThrough the ups and downs, you continued to show up and show love. I don\u2019t take any of that for granted. Thank you, Dodger Nation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ak\">The Dodgers were unable to etch their name in MLB lore, failing to become the first NL team to ever win three consecutive titles. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ap\">The Brewers got the best of them in the seven-game series, sweeping the back-to-back defending champions in the NLCS. It was an outcome few people expected. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"au\">The Dodgers had all the tools to become the first three-peat champions since the 2000 New York Yankees; however, the Brewers<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/dodgers\/onsi\/pat-murphy-brewers-wont-be-denied-beat-dodgers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> looked hungrier and more desperate <\/a>when it mattered most. <\/p>\n<p>Mookie Betts\u2019 Offensive Struggles Have Become a Major Concern<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b4\">Los Angeles&#8217; payroll did nothing for them when they needed it most this October. Betts was among the Dodgers&#8217; best hitters in the playoffs, but that&#8217;s not saying much. The 34-year-old hit .207 in the postseason to go along with a .550 OPS. He didn&#8217;t have a home run or run batted in across 29 at-bats, mainly out of the leadoff spot.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"b9\">His postseason numbers this season were slightly below his career postseason numbers. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"be\">Betts has endured multiple seasons of offensive regression due to a combination of physical health issues, injuries, positional demands and a natural decline in bat speed and hard-hit metrics. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-12\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bj\">Advanced metrics show a drop in his bat speed, barrel percentage and hard-hit rate compared to his peak MVP-caliber seasons. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-13\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bo\">It&#8217;s been a struggle for Betts at the plate more often than not, and his move to shortstop did him no favors. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-14\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"bt\">The move to shortstop certainly made his bat take a backseat to his defense, which has only gotten better despite his age and not playing everyday shortstop in his career until the 2024 season. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-15\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"by\">Betts has his own issues to worry about. In the meantime, the Dodgers have a flurry of roster questions that they will need to address in the coming months. <\/p>\n<p>The Dodgers\u2019 Championship Window Remains Open<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-17\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"c8\">The Dodgers will look to reach the World Series again in 2027 after failing to three-peat in 2026. <\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-18\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"cd\">If the Dodgers make the right moves this summer and translate them into more consistent play on the field, they could be in a position to raise another championship banner. However, there&#8217;s still plenty that needs to happen before that becomes a reality.<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-19\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"ci\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/dodgers\/onsi\/newsletter\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sign up for our free newsletter\u00a0<\/a>and follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/DodgersOnSI\" rel=\"nofollow\">X\/Twitter<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/profile.php?id=61574700751221\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a>for the latest news.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\" alt=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.minutemediacdn.com\/platform\/google_discover_icon.svg\" class=\"shrink-0\"\/>Add us as a preferred source on Google<a aria-label=\"Follow si.com on Google News\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=si.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\" preventdefault:click=\"\" class=\"flex h-[30px] w-[30px] shrink-0 items-center justify-center rounded-full bg-primary font-group-large text-sm font-medium text-white transition-colors hover:bg-secondary focus:bg-secondary md:w-auto md:gap-2.5 md:px-4 md:py-[5px]\" on:click=\"q-DZGOBo6r.js#s_lDqay9E5m5g[0]\" q:id=\"co\">Follow<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts addressed the team&#8217;s fanbase following their National League Championship Series loss to&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":936717,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[435],"tags":[49,48,462,82],"class_list":["post-936716","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936716","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=936716"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/936716\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/936717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=936716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=936716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=936716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}