Former Red Sox Superstar Honored Amid Season Revival

A former Boston Red Sox cornerstone is firing on all cylinders after a sluggish start to the 2025 season.

MLB named Mookie Betts the National League Player of the Week following a torrid stretch from the 2018 MVP. Betts went 11-for-26 with two home runs and 10 RBIs in six games against division competition last week.

Aaron Judge was named the American League Player of the Week after hitting two of his five home runs against Boston.

Betts was enduring an uncharacteristic dud of a season, batting .231/.302/.355 following his fifth straight hitless game on Aug. 4. He’s since repaired his 2025 slash line to .262/.332/.410 with seven home runs, a .985 OPS and only nine strikeouts over his last 35 games.

The 32-year-old continued that hot streak with four multi-hit games last week. Betts went yard in consecutive victories over the Colorado Rockies and fueled the Dodgers’ scoring barrage with five hits and five runs in two weekend wins against the San Francisco Giants.

Despite his turnaround, Betts still carries the lowest OBP and slugging percentage of his career. However, the eight-time All-Star explained last month that he shifted his mindset to focus on helping the team win rather than worrying about his subpar stats.

Betts still ranks 12th in fWAR among all shortstops, a position the 12-year veteran began playing regularly this season. He’s heating up just in time to help the Dodgers defend their World Series title.

Although a loaded Dodgers roster has fallen short of sky-high expectations, they’re 2.5 games ahead of the San Diego Padres in the NL West entering the final two weeks. Los Angeles begins a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday before playing four games against Rafael Devers and the Giants.