Mookie Betts’ return to Fenway Park was an emotional one for all involved.
The former Red Sox star and current Dodger came back to his old stomping grounds on Friday night for the first time since he was traded to Los Angeles in 2020, going 1-for-4 with a double, walk and two runs scored in a 7-4 win over Boston.
As he stepped up to lead off the game, he received a long and loud standing ovation from the crowd.
As Betts stepped out of the batters’ box and tipped his helmet to the crowd, he even got claps from Red Sox manager Alex Cora and his former teammate Rafael Devers.
“I don’t really remember what I was feeling. I know I was kind of shaking a little bit,” Betts said after the game. “But I’m just thankful. Thankful I got the ovation. … Thankful we won.”
Former Red Sox star Mookie Betts tips his helmet to the Fenway Park crowed as he came up to bat in the first inning of the Dodgers’ 7-4 win over the Red Sox. APBetts didn’t have any theatrics in his first at-bat though, as he popped out to first base.
One of the players he was traded for, however, showed some thunder in the bottom of the first inning.
Alex Verdugo led off for Boston and smacked a home run into the right-field bullpen, just over outfielder Jason Heyward’s reach.
After a strikeout in the third, Betts came up in the sixth and smacked a double to left field off the Green Monster, making it his first hit at Fenway Park as a visitor.
Mookie Betts got a long ovation at Fenway Park. APHe scored two batters later on Will Smith’s double.
“The whole situation took me a little bit to settle in,” Betts said. “Once I settled in I was fine.”
Betts, winner of the 2018 American League MVP with the Red Sox, has been an All-Star three times in Los Angeles and is a candidate to win top NL honors this year.
Rafael Devers clapped for his former teammate.
The trade, which the Red Sox have been widely criticized for, landed Verdugo, Jeter Downs, and Connor Wong in Boston as Betts and David Price went to Los Angeles.
Downs was cut by the Red Sox last year and is now in the Nationals’ system.
For his part in this game, Verdugo finished 3-for-5 and raised his average to .282.
Wong did not start and entered as a pinch-runner in the bottom of the eighth before catching in the ninth.
The star played six years in Boston, racking up 139 homers.
— With AP
