LOS ANGELES — Consistency, Mookie Betts said, is difficult to achieve – in anything in life. Yet in a game like baseball, which features so much failure, Betts and Ronald Acuña Jr. are finding a way to stop on top of their games as the season enters its final stretch.
The secret to attaining this level of consistency is, well, inexplicable.
“I don’t really know,” Betts told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in the home dugout at Dodger Stadium. “It’s kind of hard. ... I can’t even explain it. I really don’t know. I just know when you get there, it’s kind of hard to stay.”
See, the way Betts does it is different from how Acuña does it. And Acuña’s tricks are not the same ones Freddie Freeman uses.
If only there were a science to this.
“If it was easy, everybody would do it,” Betts said. “Not very many people are able to be consistent, and not every season are you going to be consistent. But those times that you are, you enjoy it.”
Over the weekend, Betts and Acuña shared the field at Dodger Stadium for four games, delighting fans with a matchup between the two front-runners in the National League MVP race. Fans and media alike are debating which player is most deserving of the award, and unless either falls off, the discussion will continue through the end of the regular season.
Inside this race, Acuña and Betts share a wholesome appreciation for one another. As much as they amaze fans, they also impress each other. They’ve also connected and talked a bit here and there.
“I kind of don’t remember (when we first met), but I think it’s just kind of a mutual respect-type thing,” Betts said. “He’s a really good dude. All-Star game, we got to talk some, hang out and whatnot. I think that’s been the main time that we’ve talked. Other than that, it’s mutual respect. I see him, he sees me, we kind of go say ‘what up?’
“One thing I really do enjoy is that I don’t think we got, like, a rivalry. I’m not playing against him, he’s not playing against me. We enjoy seeing each other’s success ... That’s been what’s really cool.”
The MVP race is still going. Whereas Acuña was once running away with it, Betts used a stellar August to make it close.
Acuña on Thursday became the first player in MLB history to hit at least 30 home runs and steal at least 60 bases in the same season. Acuña’s .335 batting average ranks third in the NL, his .994 OPS second. His .416 on-base percentage leads all major leaguers. He went into Sunday’s series finale with 7.0 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference.
Betts has a .316 batting average. His 1.025 OPS leads the majors. He has 38 homers and 99 RBIs. He entered Sunday with 7.8 WAR, per Baseball Reference.
What impresses Acuña most about Betts’ game?
“It’s incredible,” Acuña said through interpreter Franco García. “I think most of all, (the thing that impresses me is) it’s not easy, but the way that he makes it look easy. He plays right field, he can play center field, he can play second base. He can play anywhere.”
And what stands out most to Betts about Acuña?
“It’s kind of cliché, but pretty much everything,” Betts said. “I mean, stealing all the bases. I think the thing that most people don’t see and recognize is just how hard he hits the ball. All. The. Time. He’s probably a little bigger than most people think, and he uses it so well. It’s just really how hard, how solid he hits it all the time.”
One day after Betts said this, Acuña hit a 121.2 mph home run — the hardest-hit ball in the majors this season. Acuña’s missile registered the third-highest exit velocity on a home run since 2015, when Statcast began tracking this statistic. It’s also the sixth-hardest hit ball since then.
Over the weekend, the Braves took three of four games at Dodger Stadium. Both superstars played well.
Acuña went 6-for-17 with three home runs (one in each of the first three games) and six RBIs. Betts went 5-for-15 with two home runs (both in the series opener) and five RBIs.
As September progresses, this race should be fun to follow. And as it goes on, the two men competing for the award will continue being in awe of one another.
“It’s cool,” Acuña said after Thursday’s game, when asked about two MVP candidates sharing a field. “It’s something really nice, just because I feel like he and I have a really nice relationship. When we get a chance to talk, we do. (Thursday) was fun. We talked a little bit during the game.
“We’ll see how the MVP race plays out.”
