Dodgers Dugout: Dodgers reverse course on Betts; Mickey Hatcher will answer your questions

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Dodgers Dugout. My name is Houston Mitchell. If the Dodgers reversed course any faster on Mookie Betts, they would have stripped all the gears on the Dodger Express.

Last Tuesday, Dave Roberts announced the Betts would play shortstop when he returns from injury (which should be sometime this week, maybe even today). This move was greeted with puzzlement by many, including this very newsletter, because on the surface the Dodgers appear to be a much better team with Betts in right and Miguel Rojas at short.

You have to give Betts credit for working as hard as he did to become a decent fielder at shortstop. Not many stars (as the Yankees learned) will agree to move positions. Usually you move other players around to accommodate your superstars, you don’t move your superstars to accommodate the other players. But the Dodgers asked Betts to move from right field, where he was a Gold Glove winner, to second base, and then to shortstop. And he battled the position to a draw. But Rojas is one of the best defensive shortstops around, and as long as he’s hitting as well as he has this season, it seemed clear that he should be there.

So, what changed between Tuesday and Friday? Betts went to the Dodgers and said they were a better team with him in right and Rojas at short. As recounted in this story by Mike DiGiovanna:

“I think it was kind of a mutual thing, but I would say I mostly went to them,” said Betts. “I said, ‘Listen, I believe I can do it, but I want to win, man. I want to win. And I don’t know if me [at shortstop] is the best solution.’

“I loved the challenge of playing shortstop, but you also have to be real with yourself and the team, and do what’s best. That’s what I’ve preached from the beginning. All I want to do is win. I just feel like Miggy and Nick Ahmed being there, that’s winning baseball.”

Some readers have been critical of Betts during all of this, saying he has been a prima donna, demanding to be played here or there. He has consistently said that he would play wherever the team thinks will help them win the most. Yes, he has said he enjoys playing the infield, but that’s a far cry from demanding to play there.

Roberts’ perspective on the reversal: “We’re in a pennant race right now — we have a [2 ½-game] lead — so we have to do what’s best for the club,” Roberts said. “As Mookie continued to take balls [in right field] we just felt that the overall confidence in his play at shortstop in a pennant race versus right field, given what we have on the roster, it made sense for him to kick out to right field.

“This is kind of essentially reading the room, me and him talking. And that’s part of my job, to kind of get a feel for where he’s at, and where the ballclub is at. And this is something that both of us feel, the organization too, is the best thing for the Dodgers in 2024.”

So there you have it. My nitpick here would be that the player shouldn’t be the one pointing out the obvious to management. But as long as it ends up with the best nine players on the field, it doesn’t really matter how they got there.

Mickey Hatcher will answer your questions

A couple of times a year we do a feature where readers of this newsletter send in questions to Dodgers of the past. We’ve done “Ask Orel Hershiser”, “Ask Jerry Reuss”, “Ask Tom Niedenfuer”, “Ask Peter O’Malley”, “Ask Fred Claire” and “Ask Maury Wills” and “Ask Mike Scioscia” among others.

Mickey Hatcher, who Dodger fans of a certain age well remember for his excellent play in the 1988 World Series, is up next. Hatcher was one of the “Stuntmen” group of bench players on the 1988 team, hitting .293 in 88 games. After Kirk Gibson was injured during the National League Championship Series, Hatcher became the starting left fielder in the World Series, and he did great, hitting .368 with a double, two homers and five RBIs. He circled the bases after each homer as if he was trying to set a speed record. And he had hit only one home run during the season.

Hatcher was taken by the Dodgers in the fifth round of the 1977 draft and was traded to Minnesota just before the 1981 season along with two minor leaguers for Ken Landreaux. He had six solid season with the Twins, who released him just before the 1987 began. He was the first acquisition by Fred Claire, newly installed as Dodgers general manager, who signed him.

Hatcher has agreed to answer selected questions from Dodgers Dugout readers. So, start thinking and send them to me at houston.mitchell@latimes.com. The best and most-frequently asked questions will be chosen for him to answer in a future newsletter. You have until 11 p.m. Saturday to send a question. Please put “Ask Mickey Hatcher” in the subject line of your email. And please include your first and last name and your city of residence. Thanks!

Dusty Baker becomes a Dodger legend

Dusty Baker last played for the Dodgers in 1983 and was basically released just before the 1984 season. His travels since then have taken him across the majors, including managing two of the Dodgers’ most hated enemies: The San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros. Yet, many Dodger fans retained their love for Baker, who was a fan favorite.

I remember going to Dodger games in the late 1970s/early 80s and sitting up the third base line, pretty much directly across from the left fielder, who was usually Baker. One of the big thrills back then was stopping at the store before the game to get a pack of bubblegum? Why? So we could throw it to Baker when he took his position in the top of the first. I’m not sure how the tradition got started, but dozens of fans did it. The game was always delayed as a ball boy or two would scoop up all the gum and put it in a bucket, taking it to the dugout. But Baker almost always picked up a pack or two and stuck it in his back pocket. My gum was never chosen for this honor. (Sidenote: I wonder what happened to all that gum every game?)

Hopefully some of you remember that too. It was a great example of how much fans loved Baker.

Of course, with him managing other teams for the last 30 years, it was difficult for the Dodgers and fans to honor Baker for his service to the team. That changed last weekend, when Baker was became the eighth member of “Legends of Dodger Baseball,” the club’s unofficial Hall of Fame for those who have not been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. (The others: Don Newcombe, Steve Garvey, Fernando Valenzuela, Maury Wills, Kirk Gibson, Manny Mota and Orel Hershiser.)

The other thing Baker is remembered for: The 1977 Dodgers were on the verge of being the first team in history to have four guys with at least 30 homers. Garvey, Ron Cey and Reggie Smith had already done it. Baker was sitting on 29 going into the final game of the season, where he would have to face Houston pitcher and noted Dodger killer J.R. Richard. With two out in the sixth, Baker came to bat. The first pitch sailed over Baker’s head to the backstop. Richard, who had already struck out 10, then got two quick strikes. Baker drove the next pitch over the 395-foot marker in left-center.

That home run led to the birth of the “high-five.” Glenn Burke, who was batting next, was waiting for Baker at home when he completed his home run trot. Burke held his hand high in the air. As Baker recounts, “His hand was up in the air, and he was arching way back. So I reached up and hit his hand. It seemed like the thing to do.” And thus the high-five was born. Burke then homered off Richard too.

Bill Plaschke talked to Baker last week, and you really should read his column, which talks about why he was dumped so unceremoniously, but mainly focuses on Baker’s Dodgers legacy.

The key quote:

“I loved the Dodgers, I loved the fans, it was home. I never wanted to leave.”

River Ryan is out

River Ryan, who has pitched very well for the Dodgers, is out for the season with an elbow injury. The exact injury was not known at the time this newsletter was written, only that it would be significant enough to keep him out the rest of the season.

Interestingly, Ryan cast some blame for his injury on the pitch clock, saying it “definitely makes you speed up a lot” and “starts to take a toll” with only 15 seconds between throws.

The Dodgers have had more pitchers on the injured list than other teams this season, an almost comical amount. Roberts said (speaking about league-wide pitching injuries, not just the Dodgers), “I think that we clearly don’t have the answers to taking care of pitchers and keeping them healthy. I think the industry is doing the best they can to manage workload, manage pitch count, but clearly we don’t have it nailed … The bottom line is injuries are way up.”

Every team has had problems with pitcher injuries. There is not much of a way to prove it, but in discussions with former and past pitchers, three things seem to be the most blamed:

1. The pitch clock.
2. The emphasis on spin rate putting added pressure on the arm.
3. The fact that modern pitcher throw with 100% effort on every pitch. Many retired pitchers told me, they didn’t throw as hard as possible on every pitch. They do now.

Dodgers honor Matt Kemp

Matt Kemp returned to Dodger Stadium on Sunday and signed a one-day contract with the team so he could retire as a Dodger. Kemp, of course, was robbed in the NL MVP voting of 2011, losing to Ryan Braun.

The Dodgers also honored Kemp with this video, which you can watch here.

Up next

Monday: Dodgers (*Clayton Kershaw, 0-2, 4.38 ERA) at Milwaukee (Freddy Peralta, 7-6, 4.02 ERA), 5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Tuesday: Dodgers (Gavin Stone 9-5, 3.71 ERA) at Milwaukee (Colin Rea, 10-3, 3.38 ERA), 5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Wednesday: Dodgers (TBD) at Milwaukee (Frankie Montas, 5-8, 5.10 ERA), 5:10 p.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

Thursday: Dodgers (TBD) at Milwaukee (Tobias Myers, 6-5, 2.79 ERA), 11:10 a.m., SportsNet LA, AM 570, 1020 KTNQ

*-left-handed

In case you missed it

New eyeglasses give Kiké Hernández a new outlook on hitting

Dodgers promising rookie pitcher River Ryan will miss the rest of the season

Plaschke: Hey Dodgers, stop messing with Mookie Betts

Mookie Betts and Dodgers agree he should move from shortstop to right field

Plaschke: Once shunned, now a legend, Dusty Baker makes a triumphant Dodger return

‘An unforgettable experience.’ Jack Flaherty’s full-circle journey back to Dodger Stadium

And finally

Mickey Hatcher homers against Oakland in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series. Watch and listen here.