After the greatest achievement of Mookie Betts’s professional career, his mentor tried to beat him up.
Five hours earlier, Betts had stood behind the Red Sox’ turtle—the portable cage that teams use to protect spectators during batting practice—and lamented. “I suck,” the rightfielder told Boston DH J.D. Martinez. “My swing is trash today. I can’t figure it out.”
Martinez let him complain for a bit, then turned on him.
“Dude, whether you like it or not, people look up to you,” he said. “You can’t go around saying that stuff! It’s O.K. to be in panic, it’s O.