Exclusive: Mookie Betts Backs Dodgers to Heat Up for Another Deep Postseason Run

Mookie Betts knows the Los Angeles Dodgers can be better before they begin their World Series defence during the postseason.

The Dodgers are seen as the powerhouse of Major League Baseball and for good reason. When looking at their roster, it's stacked with superstar names such as two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani, World Series MVP and nine-time All-Star Freddie Freeman and standout pitchers such as Roki Sasaki and three-time Cy Young Award Winner Clayton Kershaw.

They also happen to have one of the greatest players of this generation in Betts, a former MVP and eight-time All-Star.

While the Dodgers have had a strong season (68-53) entering their weekend series against their division rival San Diego Padres, Betts knows Los Angeles can still improve. They're actually technically behind the Padres in the NL West and are in the Wild Card position.

"It's been alright, we haven't really gotten rolling," Betts told SportsBoom.com. 

"We've been playing OK. We're just trying to figure out ways to get those big timely hits, to make the big pitches at big times. It's just a part of the game. You just never know when that's going to happen."

The Dodgers are a team that's always struggled with health. You'll rarely see their A team on the field at once. This season has been no different with two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell only recently making his 2025 season debut on August 2.

Betts outlines remaining "healthy" as one of the keys to having success in the playoffs and making another deep World Series run.

"You just never know when that's going to happen, and we have to stay healthy," says Betts. 

"That's a big thing is staying healthy. (It's also) really just getting there and really just kind of seeing what happens. Any team can get hot at any given moment. We're all professionals, and it's just a matter of doing professional things when it's time."

Mookie Betts On How To Make Deep Postseason Run

When asked if there's a specific key or a formula to success in the playoffs, Betts downplays that notion. The 32-year-old, who has played in the playoffs eight times, says it's all about getting "hot."

"I don't know that there is a specific key or anything that you have to do," says Betts. 

"Like I was saying earlier, it's really just teams that have to find a way to get hot. There's no formula for getting hot. It usually just really kind of happens and you just start playing well."

Betts, who has missed the playoffs just once in the past nine years, says it's about capitalising in big moments. The veteran batter has won the World Series three times in his career.

"Energy starts flowing, a big hit here can light the whole team up, and then everybody starts hitting and whatnot," Betts added. 

"It's really just getting there first, that's the No. 1 thing is getting there. And then from that point on, you just never know. You just never know whose turn it's going to be. You never know what time it's going to be, maybe the second inning, maybe the ninth. You just never really know. But being there, that's the most important part."

Freddie Freeman Came Up Big In 2024 World Series Win

The veteran shortstop had some of those moments during the 2024 World Series when he drove in the eventual winning run on a sacrifice fly during the eighth inning of the Dodgers' five-run comeback in the decisive Game 5.

The Dodgers obviously had that moment in Game 1 when the series' momentum was shifted to Los Angeles after Freeman's walk-off grand slam.

"Yeah, first of all, just getting there, just being able to have those moments."

"If you don't have the moments, you have no chance to win, obviously. Getting in those moments and then just finding a way. You just have to grind and find a way. Because it's not just coming from me or Shohei or Freddie or anybody, it's everybody. It's Miguel Rojas, it's the Tommy Edman's, who was the NLCS MVP."

"That's how you win games," Betts continues to say.

"That's how you win the World Series. It really takes the whole team. Like I said, you never know whose opportunity, you never know whose chance it'll be and you just have to be ready if it is yours."