WEBVTT - Mookie Betts (2-25-26)

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<v Speaker 1>And now an exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talk.

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<v Speaker 2>Speaking of Mookie, Bets, had a chance to catch up

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<v Speaker 2>with him earlier today. Here is our one on one

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<v Speaker 2>conversation with four time World Series champion Mookie Bets. I

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<v Speaker 2>think guys are starting to get tired of me. It's

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<v Speaker 2>that time of spring training. It's only been two weeks.

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<v Speaker 2>Guys are getting tired of me. But my guy, Mooki Bets,

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<v Speaker 2>has taken some time for us and I appreciate that. Hey,

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<v Speaker 2>not bad, four rings, looking for a fifth. Thank you

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<v Speaker 2>for the time and great to see you out here again.

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<v Speaker 3>Yes, sir, that's how you know we love you though,

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<v Speaker 3>because we were messing with you, you know, every time

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<v Speaker 3>you stepped foot around us. So it's good to see

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<v Speaker 3>you again.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey. I know you said this is the first normal

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<v Speaker 1>spring training you've had with the Dodgers, and I was

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<v Speaker 1>thinking about it, and you're right. You go back to

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty and twenty one, the pandemic cut things a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit different, and then obviously you've had to go

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<v Speaker 1>on these trips to Tokyo and Korea. How does it

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<v Speaker 1>feel to just ease into the season.

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<v Speaker 3>It's kind of weird. It's kind of weird. I forgot

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<v Speaker 3>what it feels like. So, you know, I'm really this

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<v Speaker 3>is really the first time I get to kind of

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<v Speaker 3>take my time. Usually I'm ramped up and fully ready

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<v Speaker 3>to go right now. So you know, fortunately I'm at

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<v Speaker 3>the stage in my career where I can kind of

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<v Speaker 3>take my time and whatnot, and so I'm gonna see

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<v Speaker 3>how it works.

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<v Speaker 1>How does it feel coming off back to back World

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<v Speaker 1>Series Championships and to have the same core group of

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<v Speaker 1>guys with you to try to go for this three pet.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean I think just that and itself means

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<v Speaker 3>so much. You know, usually after stuff like this, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>teams kind of break apart, guys want to go get

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<v Speaker 3>their money or whatever it is, right, But no, not

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<v Speaker 3>this group. This group is it's almost likely kind of

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<v Speaker 3>will do everything to stay together, you know, because you

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<v Speaker 3>never really get an opportunity to love coming to work

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<v Speaker 3>as much as we do, love each other as much

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<v Speaker 3>as we do, and love playing as much as we do.

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<v Speaker 3>So very rarely have you do you see in sports

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<v Speaker 3>all three of those things? And we got it.

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<v Speaker 1>I asked Miguel Rojas about this, what you guys are

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<v Speaker 1>on the verge of trying to accomplish making history. A

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people weren't even born the last time a

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<v Speaker 1>team won three in a row. But he said, you

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<v Speaker 1>guys are embracing that and not shying away from it.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that the way you've gone about it the last

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<v Speaker 1>couple of years, and is that the way you guys

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<v Speaker 1>have to approach it this year, not shy away from success?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean I would say so, you know, having

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<v Speaker 3>the hav an opportunity to win every year, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>having those expectations, that's a blessing in itself, and then

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<v Speaker 3>being able to we were ready to come through twice

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<v Speaker 3>just to have this type of opportunity. I mean, people

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<v Speaker 3>don't even get this opportunity whether we do it or not.

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<v Speaker 3>And so obviously we obviously we're we're embracing it and

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<v Speaker 3>we know what's here. And it's not like it's, you know, anything,

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<v Speaker 3>it's a huge thing. It's a history, and so the

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<v Speaker 3>only way to kind of get through that is just

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<v Speaker 3>embrace and understand the battle and then figure out how

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<v Speaker 3>to attack it.

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<v Speaker 2>Muki.

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<v Speaker 1>Everybody seems to always want to focus on individual numbers,

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<v Speaker 1>but the reality is, ever since you came to the Dodgers.

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<v Speaker 1>All they've done is win. How much pride do you

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<v Speaker 1>take in that? Because when they traded for you, that

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<v Speaker 1>was the goal, and you're on a roll right now,

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<v Speaker 1>even starting in twenty twenty. What does that mean to

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<v Speaker 1>be considered a winner?

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<v Speaker 2>You know?

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<v Speaker 3>Obviously that's why we play, you know, that's why we play.

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<v Speaker 3>I want to be a winner. I mean, obviously, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>individual accolades are a great thing, right, but it doesn't

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<v Speaker 3>mean anything unless unless you're winning, you know, and so

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<v Speaker 3>you know, obviously hasn't been just me. You know, we've

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<v Speaker 3>had some great teams here and they were winning before

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<v Speaker 3>I got here. But you know, you know, with show

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<v Speaker 3>Hey coming over, I mean you can argue that, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>he's the number one reason why, which is amazing me.

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<v Speaker 3>Shoot out, I'll take it, I'll take it. But you know,

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<v Speaker 3>just being being what I feel like, I'm a winner,

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<v Speaker 3>and I feel like coming to winning organization with a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of guys in here who are winners or aspire

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<v Speaker 3>to be winners, it's just a really good match.

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<v Speaker 1>A lot of these people don't remember or have short memories,

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<v Speaker 1>but I remember your first spring training with the Dodgers,

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<v Speaker 1>how you demanded guys to practice like it was the game.

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<v Speaker 1>You had the jar and here you are, you got

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<v Speaker 1>four or five different shortstop gloves, get ready to go

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<v Speaker 1>before anybody else. Do you feel like that tone has

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<v Speaker 1>been set again this spring?

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<v Speaker 2>Oh?

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<v Speaker 3>Absolutely, I mean that's that that tone I think since

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<v Speaker 3>since then hasn't really hasn't really left, and so you know,

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<v Speaker 3>that's that's that's just kind of what it is. That's

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<v Speaker 3>the way we'll we will get through this h this history.

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<v Speaker 3>This is how we'll create the history is just by

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<v Speaker 3>taking every day one one day at a time, one

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<v Speaker 3>ground ball at a time, and making it to where

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<v Speaker 3>we don't know the difference. I think that's the beauty

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<v Speaker 3>of this team is we don't know the difference between

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<v Speaker 3>pressure no pressure, because if we view it all the same,

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<v Speaker 3>it's the same. It's the same. So when it got

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<v Speaker 3>down late in the season last year, it wasn't a panic.

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<v Speaker 3>It wasn't like we needed to play harder or do

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<v Speaker 3>this more. It was like, no, we just play our game.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, it's the same thing we've been doing all year.

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<v Speaker 3>And so I think that was a beautiful, beautiful thing

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<v Speaker 3>about that last year and now just the culture we have, Hey, Mookie.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking of all that where you guys practice and then

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<v Speaker 1>it shows up in Game seven of the World Series.

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<v Speaker 1>What about in the NLDS against the Phillies, the whole

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<v Speaker 1>wheel play? All that is the wheel play in practice

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<v Speaker 1>in spring training? Or is that just instincts as the

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<v Speaker 1>season goes on.

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<v Speaker 3>That's just instincts, That's just instincts. We have a good

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<v Speaker 3>veteran group here, and we've seen the game so much.

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<v Speaker 3>We know a lot of things about this game. And

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<v Speaker 3>so that was just us kind of Doc trusting us

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<v Speaker 3>to help him. You know, he helps us so much

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<v Speaker 3>and puts us in so many spots to win. So

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<v Speaker 3>that was our way to, uh to kind of do

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<v Speaker 3>it for him.

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<v Speaker 1>All right, before I let you go, you got new

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<v Speaker 1>tequila Providencia and also you got a new glove line. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>can kids go out and buy that for the Little

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<v Speaker 1>league season?

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<v Speaker 2>Yet? Ah?

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<v Speaker 3>That best two V can?

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<v Speaker 2>I can't.

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<v Speaker 3>I can't talk about it just yet. You know, we'll, Uh,

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<v Speaker 3>we've got a little time here. I'm just testing out

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<v Speaker 3>some gloves right now. Let's just to see how it's

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<v Speaker 3>going to play out. So, uh, stay tuned and I'll

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<v Speaker 3>make sure you.

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<v Speaker 1>Know, I feel like the real test would be a skinny,

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<v Speaker 1>fat guy like myself. If I could catch a baseball

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<v Speaker 1>with your glove. I think it's meant for everybody.

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<v Speaker 3>We'll get you on and we'll find out.

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<v Speaker 2>Sir.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, Mooky, great to see you, Awesome to have you

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<v Speaker 1>back for this, for this run. And man, it's not

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<v Speaker 1>a Dodger season without Mookie Bets, that's for sure. And

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<v Speaker 1>he's got that twenty one on the back of his

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<v Speaker 1>hand in spring training.

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<v Speaker 3>Sick. It's sick.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 3>I saw Kursh with it when I first got here,

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<v Speaker 3>so I always said I want to one, and I

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<v Speaker 3>got it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, yes, sir.

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<v Speaker 1>And you got rings more to come. Thank you, Mooky.