Mookie Bets is no stranger to the concrete jungles of New York. We're at Yankee Stadium, Dodgers here for the first time since twenty sixteen, Mookie Bets and a Dodger uniform at Yankee Stadium for the first time. I know everybody's excited about this series, but how do you feel about it, knowing that you're in this uniform for the first time in this stadium. I mean, I feel good about it. I mean I don't think the uh. I think that the rivalry is still still pretty close to the same. Obviously Red
Sox Yankees is that's uncomparable. But I think with both teams and both teams being pretty good, I think the game, the atmosphere would be pretty similar to to Red Sox Yankees. What was the reception for Mookie Bets when he came here as a Red Sox. Oh, it wasn't anything good. Every time you stepped foot in the Yankee Stadium is nothing good. But you know, it's always fun coming here. And you know, I'm friends with a lot of those guys over there, and we understand the competition and we know
that that's what makes it fun. Moki in the NBA. You know, sometimes you have guys measure themselves against other guys, Kobe, d Wade, Lebron, Kobe, Magic Bird, all that stuff. Do you ever measure yourself to see what Judge or Sodo is doing or anybody else in the league. Nah, I can't do what those guys do. I mean, I'm
not. I'm five to nine, one hundred and seventy pounds, you know, So it's I can't do anything at six eight two fifty or whatever how much he weighs or want Soto who's yea, what six one sixty two and he weighs two thirty twenty two thirty. So there's there's nothing I can do that they can do. Or yeah that that that that they already do. So there's no sense in really trying to compare my skill set to theirs. Well, I feel it's the opposite. They can't do what Mooki bets can
do. How many players in Major League Baseball superstars can do what you've done the last two years right field, second base and now shortstop and also last year hit thirty nine home runs. See, I'm looking at it the other way. Guys can't do what Mooki bets can do. Yeah, I mean, you know, it is what it is. I do what I can to help us win. Then, you know, I was just kind of
blessed with the skill set. And you know, guys that are five nine one seven, he probably can move around a little easier than somebody of their their stature. But you know what, different bodies come with different skill sets. I love what you said after the game yesterday, You're feeling like you're twenty one or twenty two years old. Why are you feeling that way?
Oh, I'm just obviously eating really good, making sure the engine is going, and then just my workouts and just taking extra time to take care of my body, you know. And as you get a little older, there's things that you got to do that to make sure you can keep going, you know. And I just had a lot of experience seeing people, seeing some do it the right way, see some and some some do it.
I wouldn't say not the right way, but a different way. And so I just have some experience with seeing things, and so I'm just trying to h to make sure I take care of myself. It comes to a certain stage of everybody's life right where you you can't just eat McDonald's every day. Yeah, that's exactly what it is. You can't can can't be eating something like now, I don't. I try not to eat after like twelve o'clock.
You know, it's hard. It's hard, you know, because you know we're getting home at eleven o'clock and whatnot, and I just try to eat light mills that late. You know. It's weird. You know when you're when you're young, you can just eat the two or three in the morning and nothing right. But if I do that now, I'm screwed for us today. So I gotta like you gotta roll with the changes, Mookie.
I've enjoyed your podcasts going back to last year. And I think you told me that when you interviewed Aaron Judge last year that was really the first time you've ever had an extended conversation with him. What did you find out about him during that interview that you were surprised about or you have more appreciation for nothing? Really? I mean, I think you know we've had that was probably the longest sit down we've actually had to have but gotten to have.
But you know, playing against him here and then a couple of All Star Games you know, being on the same side, We've had some good conversations, and that's probably nothing new that I really got to learn. I mean, you know, we all know who he is, and he's he's a pretty open book about himself, and so I just know he's an awesome
dude and he's a he's doing things the right way for sure. So another guest you had was one of your own teammates, Tyler Glass Now, a couple of weeks ago, and he flapped open his bottom lip to show you a tattoo. Do you look at Glass now any differently now? Nah? I honestly forgot about it. No, I would. I would space out on that too. I would try to block that out as well. Yeah.
No, it's it's new, isn't he. It shows you another another layer of glass that you most people don't know you know, and nothing that you may use, you may use, you may not use. But it's something that is definitely good to know, Mookie. I know you're harder on yourself than anybody else, but aren't you proud of what you've accomplished so far? It feels like I told you this a couple of weeks ago as well.
Whenever things don't go smoothly at short. People want to point it out, but I would say nine games out of ten things are going smoothly for you. So are you proud of that to this point? Yeah, I'm definitely. I'm super proud of myself for, first of all, just taking on the challenge because a lot of people, you know, they may not and you know that a lot of failure is gonna come with it. And I knew that going in. You know, there's really only negatives that could
come out of it. Only positive is doing this for the team, you know, and but you know nobody wants to. I knew people wouldn't want me to play short and think I can't do it, and this, that and the other, and I still accepted it. And so I'm very proud of myself for how far I've come. And I know I have a long long way to go, you know, I obviously you know I hate making errors and whatnot. But I mean there's no there was no time to learn.
There's there's no lag time. I mean, as soon as I took on the challenge, I mean, hell, it was game one, you know, there was no spring I didn' get into spring training. I didn't get an off season. I didn't get any of that, so I understood it. And I know that's not an excuse. It's just I'm kind of learning on the job, and you got to take your bumps and bruises, and it's hard to take them, but there's no other choice. Goes back
to the first day I saw you in spring training. You had the determination to win this year, and a lot of guys say it, but they don't do it. So it was the Dodger's coming to you, asking you, this will help us win, and you embrace that challenge. Yeah, I mean it, you know, kind of is what it is. I mean, I'm I came into the season body ready to go, everything ready to go, and obviously I was playing second, so I knew I needed to make sure I stay up with the moving around and whatnot. I knew
that I would be able to at least go over there and play. You know, I didn't know how I would do how I would do. I hadn't done it since I was eighteen, so I was skeptical just like everybody else was. But you know, at some point you just got to embrace those fears, embrace the failures. Embrace all that stuff and just go do
it. Mookie Bets is our guest before I let you go. Last time we were in New York, we were at City Field, and I got to visit with your former teammate, America's DH JD Martinez, who told me his vision for post playing is being partners with Mookie Betts in a pickleball championship team. Can you ever see that happening? Yeah, I definitely see that.
We'll definitely make that happens. That's one of my closest friends in the world, and so I'll definitely make sure I make it down or we'll go somewhere and make sure we get in a tournament somewhere, and I don't know, we may have some videos or something to put out there, but we'll see howest pick a ball game is. I'm curious to see it. You'd be great. He's the big man, you're the little guy in the in the pickle ball you know, like Shaq Kobe kind of pickleball tandem there.
You know, he doesn't move that well, MOOKI, but I'll take care of the moving part. He just has to make sure he finishes like Shaq does. Oh Man love it, Mookie, great talking to you and look forward to this series and appreciate the time. I am so proud of what you've been able to accomplish. The season of Mookie Bets continues. Thank you, Bess.