Mookie Betts being trained by former Blue Jays' shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.
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Former Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Troy Tulowitzki is training Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts how to be an elite shortstop.
Troy Tulowitzki never knew Mookie Betts particularly well during their time together in Major League Baseball.
A five-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove shortstop, Tulowitzki played against Betts plenty near the end of his 13-year career, overlapping with the start of Betts' rise to stardom with the Boston Red Sox.
The two had mutual friends and were division foes for three years while Tulowitzki was with the Toronto Blue Jays from 2015 to 2017.
But with Betts just beginning his career and Tulowitzki winding down his decorated playing days, their interactions were limited.
The first time they met, Betts was almost too shy to say hello.
«He was like, 'Oh man, I was so scared to talk to you,'» Tulowitzki said with a laugh recently, after hearing Betts recount the story years later. «Now, obviously, he's one of the best players in the game.»
One of the best, yes. But also one in search of guidance in playing shortstop.
So as Betts embarked on a tireless training program this offseason, preparing to play the position full-time for the Dodgers after his inconsistent three-month stretch last season, he reached out to Tulowitzki and asked to spend some time training together.
Tulowitzki, now an assistant coach with the Texas Longhorns, happily obliged - excited to work with a player of Betts' caliber and, like the rest of the baseball world, also curious to see how the six-time Gold Glove right fielder would fare in his virtually unprecedented position switch.
«To be one of the best defenders in the game, if not the best with the Platinum Gloves and Gold Gloves and all that, and then to go to shortstop,» Tulowitzki said, «I'd watch him play [last year] and was like, 'Eh, he's OK there.' But that's what he should be.»
Fast-forward a few months, however, and you can count Tulowitzki among the growing contingent of those sold on Betts' potential at shortstop.
«I wouldn't say this for anybody else that's just spent however many years in the outfield and then go to the infield,» Tulowitzki said of a position change that has no equivalent in recent baseball history. «But I can truly tell you, I think he can be an elite defender at the position - which is just crazy to say.»
Last year Betts got a crash course at the position. He was pressed into shortstop duties just weeks before opening day.
He spent the first half trying to learn its intricacies on the fly. And after missing two months because of a broken hand, he returned to right field for the stretch run, unable to progress enough at shortstop to play there in the playoffs.
This winter Betts benefited from a more curated instructional plan. He took grounders on an almost daily basis near his home in Los Angeles.
He traveled to see Tulowitzki in Texas and Dodgers coaches in Arizona, working on everything from arm slots to attack angles to the mental process of handling different defensive situations.
Most of all he started to craft a personalized style at the position, using his natural athleticism and long-time outfield habits to play shortstop with what first base coach Chris Woodward termed a more «downhill» mentality - already showing this spring more of a comfort level and confidence than he did during his nine-error experiment there last season.
«It's two grades better already,» manager Dave Roberts said.
The deferential Betts has been more reserved in his own analysis, emphasizing he still has much to learn.
«The one thing I have right now is my technique I practiced in the offseason,» he said. «But the process is gonna be trial and error.»
Throwing also was the main focus of Betts' work in Texas with Tulowitzki. Amid his transition from the outfield, where Tulowitzki noted «you're trying to get over the top and create some backspin,» Betts picked Tulowitzki's brain on how he positioned himself for different tosses across the infield.
Then, Betts took that feedback and put it immediately into action during his three-day visit. Over the rest of the winter he continued to send Tulowitzki video of his progress too.
«I couldn't believe the strides that he made,» Tulowitzki said. «I say to do something, and it's pretty much done in a day or two. And then once he went home, he would send me video back, and I'm like, 'Yeah, that's it, man.' Talk about a pretty easy guy to work with. He's special.»
It doesn't mean Betts is primed for Gold Glove-caliber play right away. This spring he has continued to grind through daily shortstop drills, often remaining on the field long after the rest of the infielders have concluded their rounds of morning grounders.
He also knows that for all the reps he got this winter, nothing will compare to the speed and pressure of real games, when his new fundamentals will be put to the test.
«It's the first time I've had to mentally prepare for something like this,» Betts said. «Again, I didn't get this opportunity [last year], so this stuff never came across my plate. So I really have no idea. I'm just gonna go out there and give it what I got, and use this spring training to talk to other guys, figure out what information I can use to make better decisions throughout the game.»
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
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