"There was the stomach virus at the start of the year, which caused him to lose 20 pounds and develop bad swing habits while overcompensating for a decline in physical strength. There was the defensive switch to shortstop, which occupied much of his focus as he learned a new position on the go. There was also an unfamiliar mental strain, as the former MVP slumped like he never had before."
"Amid a year of continuous turmoil, Betts finally found a way to mentally move on. Over his final 47 games of the regular season, he batted .317 and nearly doubled his home run total, jumping from 11 on Aug. 4 to 20 by the end of the term. During the Dodgers' 15-5 finish to the schedule, he was one of the lineup's hottest hitters, posting a .901 OPS that was second on the team only to Shohei Ohtani."
Mookie Betts suffered a stomach virus early in the year, losing 20 pounds and developing bad swing habits while overcompensating for reduced physical strength. A defensive switch to shortstop occupied much of his focus as he learned a new position on the go. An unfamiliar mental strain produced an unprecedented slump. He accepted failure, reframed his mindset, and used setbacks as positives, prompting a turnaround. He finished with career lows in batting average (.258) and OPS (.732) but rebounded over his final 47 games, batting .317, raising his home runs from 11 to 20, and producing strongly in the wild-card sweep.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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