J.D. Martinez tried to pass along some advice to his Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts during a break in the action at the 2023 Home Run Derby.
It didn’t have the impact that the designated hitter was hoping.
Martinez’s advice to Betts — who had hit 11 home runs before his 30 seconds of bonus time in Round 1 of the derby — was to try to pull the ball to left field.
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Betts’ response?
“I don’t know how to do that,” he told Martinez on ESPN’s broadcast of the event.
“I don’t know how!”
Mookie getting advice from his teammate J.D. Martinez 😅 pic.twitter.com/9ud6IiLgwV
— ESPN (@espn) July 11, 2023
Obviously, the interaction between the two teammates was good-natured and even comical. It simply seemed like Betts had already concluded that he wouldn’t be able to beat Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit 26 homers to start the 3- vs. 6-seed matchup.
As such, he wasn’t looking to change too much about his swing just to chase a number that would still rank last among the derby’s eight-player field.
Betts had always been viewed as a longshot to win the Home Run Derby. He had the second-lowest odds to win the event outright, ahead of only Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. Many wondered whether he could consistently produce homers within the allotted time given his 5-9, 180-pound frame.
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Even Betts didn’t express much confidence in his ability to win the derby before the event.
“I think my chances are pretty low,” Betts said when asked about winning the derby on Monday, before adding, “But you know, they’re not zero.”
“I think my chances are pretty low.” 😂
Mookie Betts was brutally honest about his #HRDerby odds. pic.twitter.com/vCSJJQLa5C
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 10, 2023
Indeed, it would seem that Betts’ focus was on checking the Home Run Derby off his baseball bucket list at the urging of his wife.
Mission accomplished.