However, it became too common as managers began using position players during blowouts to spare their bullpen on a frequent basis. According to MLB<\/a>, there were just three instances of a position player pitching in 2008. That number jumped to 90 in 2019 and skyrocketed to an all-time high of 132 pitching appearances by position players in \u201922.<\/p>\n Heading into the \u201923 season, MLB updated its rulebook that position players could only enter the game in extra innings, or if their team is trailing by at least eight runs at any point, or if their team is winning by at least 10 runs in the ninth inning. The year prior, position players could enter at any time if the margin of a game was at least six runs.<\/p>\n Those rules decreased the number of position player appearances for a few seasons, but it jumped back up to 131<\/a> in 2025. Halfway through the \u201926 season, there have been 83 relief appearances by 39 different position players. Rockies catcher Brett Sullivan is the leader in the clubhouse this season with six innings pitched across five appearances, all in blowout losses.\u00a0<\/p>\n Betts is not a fan. He has just one plate appearance against a position player this season\u2014a matchup against Pirates utilityman Tyler Callihan in the Dodgers\u2019 12-3 win on June 9\u2014and he flew out to center field.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lose-lose,\u201d Betts told SI. \u201cYou get a hit, you\u2019re supposed to. But it\u2019s so hard to get a hit. It\u2019s so hard to get that hit. And then if you get out, ah, you got out by a position player. I\u2019d rather just go home at that point.\u201d<\/p>\n Entering the All-Star break, Betts and the back-to-back champion Dodgers own the best record in baseball at 61\u201336. With a comfortable 11.5-game lead over the second-place Diamondbacks, Los Angeles looks like it will cruise to a fifth straight NL West title. Betts is having a down year at the plate overall, batting just .235\/.293\/.416 with 11 homers in 60 games and sporting a 95 OPS+, five points below league average, but there\u2019s still plenty of time for him to turn things around.<\/p>\n Off the field, Betts is keeping plenty busy. He recently collaborated with Corona to launch the Beach Connect Series, a collection of limited-edition jerseys co-designed by several MLB stars: Betts, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Pete Crow-Armstrong, Ronald Acuna Jr, Jeremy Pena and Cristopher Sanchez.\u00a0<\/p>\n Betts\u2019s personalized \u201cLa Playa\u201d jersey features a golf course across the chest and a bowling pin patch on the arm.\u00a0Fans can enter sweepstakes to win one of these jerseys at CoronaUSA.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n A look at the jersey Mookie Betts designed in collaboration with Corona. | Corona<\/p>\n \u201cBowling and playing golf keep me in the chill beach mindset where I can just relax,\u201d Betts told SI. <\/p>\n After trying his hand at jersey design for the Corona collab, Betts told SI his five favorite jerseys in MLB are the Dodgers, Red Sox, Yankees, White Sox and Padres. But only if those teams keep their position players off the mound. <\/p>\n![\"Mookie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/01kxng4pktcc1tpx0yn7.jpg\" "\\"Mookie")
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