Betts: 2-HR game while still recovering from illness 'super special'
For Mookie Betts, Friday's remarkable walk-off homer was more than just a victory.
After completing a remarkable two-homer night to lift the Los Angeles Dodgers to an 8-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers, Betts - now back to full health following a mysterious illness - was emotional about all he'd overcome in the past few weeks. The superstar previously said he couldn't eat while sick and had lost around 25 pounds.
"That was super special. I know it sounds super selfish, but more for me," Betts said following Friday's game, according to Sonja Chen of MLB.com. "I was just really proud of myself for coming in and playing underweight - not that it's a big deal to be underweight.
"But just the fight that I've been through, the ups and downs, the nights where I'm just crying because I'm sick, my wife there kind of holding me. That's where that emotion comes from. Then obviously, winning for the boys. That's where the rest of it comes."
Betts' illness kept him out of the Dodgers' season-opening games in Japan. It wasn't until the team's home opener Thursday that he could finally get back on the field despite being underweight. He went 1-for-3 during his 2025 debut, then willed the Dodgers to victory Friday with a 3-for-5 performance that included two homers and four RBIs.
Betts became the seventh player in the expansion era (since 1961) to record multiple go-ahead homers in the eighth inning or later, with one of those being a walk-off blast, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com.
(Video source: MLB.com)
And he did all of that while still trying to regain more of the weight that he lost while sick.
"I'm at 165 now, so another seven or eight pounds will help me a lot, but 10 would be ideal," he said, per The Associated Press. Betts added that he's eating more than usual to try and speed up the weight gain.
"My chef and wife, both of them are doing enough cooking. I'm eating during the game," Betts said.
Betts' feat also wowed his teammates, who were amazed at how quickly he's returned to full strength after such a serious illness.
"He's superhuman," third baseman Max Muncy said, per Chen. "We were joking around that that first home run he hit was probably his best bulk that he's got right now, with all the strength that he's got. But he one-upped us. So we were all wrong on that one."
"That was not on my bingo card," added manager Dave Roberts. "He just does some special things."
With Friday's win, the Dodgers became the first reigning World Series champions to open their title defense at 4-0 or better since the 1985 Tigers started 6-0, according to Chen and Elias Sports Bureau.