Mookie Betts shows Dodgers he's up to every challenge

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The pickleball craze that swept the United States in recent years finally reached Mookie Betts some time around January. It became his go-to extracurricular activity in spring training, during which he arranged for a custom court to be built on the lawn of his home in the Los Angeles suburb of Encino. The project was finished by late June, about a week after he fractured his left hand on a hit by pitch. It was perfect timing. Betts was quickly able to replace one obsession -- learning shortstop, arguably his sport's most difficult position, on the fly -- with another: pelting plastic balls with 16-inch paddles.

"I'm the type of person who can't just sit down,"…