WEBVTT - Mookie Betts (10-4-25)

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<v Speaker 1>An exclusive interview with David Bassey for Dodger Talker. All right,

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<v Speaker 1>we are in Philly for Game one of the NLDS.

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<v Speaker 1>Mookie bets already loose after I got him in the

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<v Speaker 1>right frame of mind my goofiness and skinny fat humor. Mookie,

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<v Speaker 1>thanks a lot for the time. Appreciated of course.

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<v Speaker 2>Brother, Always always going to come talk to you.

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<v Speaker 1>I feel like the Dodgers are being overlooked to a

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<v Speaker 1>certain extent. I mean, you guys have been playing well

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<v Speaker 1>now for three weeks. Do you feel like you're playing

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<v Speaker 1>your best baseball as a group at the right time.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't know. I don't think any of us you

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<v Speaker 2>are even really paying attention to it. I think for

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<v Speaker 2>the most part, we're just being present in the moment,

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<v Speaker 2>taking one pitch at a time, and just doing what

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<v Speaker 2>we can to help to help the team win. I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>we all love each other, we know what it takes

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<v Speaker 2>to win, and we know that now is the time

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<v Speaker 2>where we really got to come together.

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<v Speaker 1>How fun is this for you? It feels like we've

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<v Speaker 1>been waiting for this matchup between the Dodgers and Phillies

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<v Speaker 1>for the last three years. It's final here You've played

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<v Speaker 1>in East Coast environments before. It should be fun tonight.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, it's gonna be a lot of fun. It's

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<v Speaker 2>you know, this is kind of what you dream dream of,

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<v Speaker 2>you know when you're a kid and you you know

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<v Speaker 2>you're you're making up the game, the game winner, in

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<v Speaker 2>the in the in the backyard. You know, we're fortunate,

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<v Speaker 2>we're blessed to be able to kind of live out,

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<v Speaker 2>live out our dreams. And so being playing in a

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<v Speaker 2>rough environment, you know it's gonna be we know it's

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<v Speaker 2>gonna be tough. They're gonna be good, the fans are

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<v Speaker 2>gonna bring it. But uh, that's what that's what makes

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<v Speaker 2>it beautiful.

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<v Speaker 1>Experience. You always hear that, whether it's the NBA playoffs,

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<v Speaker 1>major League Baseball postseason, how much do you believe what

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<v Speaker 1>you guys went through last year has helped you to

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<v Speaker 1>get through this season?

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<v Speaker 2>I think, uh, you know, anytime, anytime you have experience,

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<v Speaker 2>that's always gonna be a positive thing, especially if you

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<v Speaker 2>know how to use it. And I feel like with

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<v Speaker 2>Doc and with the guys here, we all went through

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<v Speaker 2>it together and you know, we had had a positive

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<v Speaker 2>experience and in the postseason, and so we can use

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<v Speaker 2>those positive, those positive things to kind of bind us together,

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<v Speaker 2>especially this year going this year. I mean, we we

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<v Speaker 2>hadn't really played well at all this year, so it's

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<v Speaker 2>like we really really there's nothing that can really phase

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<v Speaker 2>us at this point. I mean we there's not nothing

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<v Speaker 2>we haven't been through already, and we know that from experience,

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<v Speaker 2>how to get how to get out of it.

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

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<v Speaker 1>we talked a lot about Kobe, the Mamba mentality, your

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<v Speaker 1>connection to him at that point in time, and he

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<v Speaker 1>always talked about the journey. It's not the destination, but

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<v Speaker 1>the journey. Have you started to understand that more than

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<v Speaker 1>ever this season, that your journey is going to be

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<v Speaker 1>even sweeter when you get to that destination.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I mean I think that's exactly what it is.

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<v Speaker 2>You just take the things that you learn along the way,

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<v Speaker 2>and that's the beauty of it. It's like, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>when you get to the end goal, it's kind of

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<v Speaker 2>kind of sucks because it's over, right, because you kind

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<v Speaker 2>of really really enjoy You gotta really really learn how

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<v Speaker 2>to love going through the days of the dog days,

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<v Speaker 2>the good days, the in between days. You have to

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<v Speaker 2>learn how to make the in between days positive in

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<v Speaker 2>some way, form or fashion. You got to learn from

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<v Speaker 2>just everything. And so I think when you get in

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<v Speaker 2>that mindset, you just want of learning or you know,

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<v Speaker 2>every day pretty much. I mean, you go through the

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<v Speaker 2>journey and once you get to the destination, it's all

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<v Speaker 2>it's like, Oh, you didn't even realize you were there.

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<v Speaker 2>You know, you're just kind of lost in the journey.

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<v Speaker 1>I remember also being with you at a point in

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<v Speaker 1>time in the season where it felt like you hit

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<v Speaker 1>rock bottom in Tampa, but luckily America's DH was there.

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<v Speaker 1>And also you told me about, you know, your wife Brianna,

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<v Speaker 1>how much she helped you at that point in time,

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<v Speaker 1>and it seemed like all of that came together at

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<v Speaker 1>the right time for you.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah I did it, did I mean yeah, yeah? I

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<v Speaker 2>really did hit like an all time low for myself

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<v Speaker 2>and I just didn't really know where to go. And

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<v Speaker 2>having them to help me through it was huge. But

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<v Speaker 2>it also took some of me, you know, some of

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<v Speaker 2>me personally, just kind of changing my mindset, changing but

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<v Speaker 2>really changing what was important to me. I think that

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<v Speaker 2>was the thing. And winning I know that was important

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<v Speaker 2>to me, and being here and showing up every day

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<v Speaker 2>for the boys is very important to me, and so

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<v Speaker 2>if I can do those things, you know, at the

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<v Speaker 2>rest of it was just gonna be what it was,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, But showing up and things that really were

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<v Speaker 2>important to me, achieving those it definitely helped me through

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<v Speaker 2>this year.

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<v Speaker 1>The thing for me that I love the most is

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<v Speaker 1>obviously your success. But it feels like you're getting a

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<v Speaker 1>little bit more hangtime these days when you round second

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<v Speaker 1>base and salute your teammates. So I'm looking forward to

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<v Speaker 1>that in Philly, for you to get that Jordan Kobe

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<v Speaker 1>type of hangtime, because the happier you are, the higher

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<v Speaker 1>you go.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, well try and get this one. That'll be fun.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll see how shakes out.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks a lot for the time, Mookie. Always great to

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<v Speaker 1>see you smile and can't wait to see you on

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<v Speaker 1>stage one day with that guitar. Thanks about is