Boston Red Sox Mookie Betts’ plan to conquer a different version of balls and strikes
Take away his name and his day job, and Mookie Betts looks like he belongs among the regulars on the Professional Bowlers Association Tour.
Granted, it’s tough to do that with one of the best baseball players in the world.
But the 2018 American League MVP bounced from lane to lane Tuesday afternoon just as Hall of Famer Norm Duke and young star Anthony Simonsen did.
Betts is smooth from address, and through his approach. His arm swing and follow through look the same, throw after throw.
Betts dresses the part, too. His bowling shirt comes with Storm, the equipment manufacturer, printed across the chest. His shoes stand out, for those who look happen to glance down.
They are as white as snow, with his Boston Red Sox jersey No. 50 across each heal.
That serves as the reminder, to those who don’t already know, that Betts is an All-Star outfielder and not one of 56 bowlers competing this week at the PBA Hall of Fame Classic.
A bowling alley is his happy place when he’s not at Fenway Park or in a batter’s box elsewhere in the major leagues.
But he’s not here for yuks. He’s going to compete and see where he stands Thursday after two days of qualifying.
“The No. 1 thing is don’t come in last,” Betts said. “After that, it’s still compete and make sure you enjoy yourself. Obviously, I’ll do a lot of learning, so when I go back home I can take these things and apply them.”
Betts has put in the work this off-season, practicing frequently. He was the Tennessee High School Bowler of the Year in 2010 and has shown his might in professional events during past baseball off-seasons.
He won the Chris Paul PBA Celebrity Invitational in February before jetting off to Florida for spring training, and rolled a perfect 300 game in the PBA World Series of Bowling IX event in November 2017.
“He was the only perfect game all day long,” Duke said. “It’s very difficult to bowl a perfect game on our tour. It’s like a hole-in-one.”
But Betts clearly has bowling talent, Duke said. It’s evident on the baseball field, and the bowlers aren’t surprised when they see him do something great on the lanes.
It’s his athletic ability that has bowlers convinced Betts would contend each week if he were to dedicate himself to the sport full time.
“He’s just a very gifted athlete,” said Jason Belmonte, the world’s top-ranked bowler. “You could put a basketball in his hands and he knows what he’s doing. You put a bowling ball in his hand, and he’s pretty talented. I think if he were to dedicate himself to purely to bowling, it would take him a lot less time to be in the top echelon of the PBA just because of how athletic he is.”
But does he have a 7-10 split’s chance at winning this week.
“Win? Probably not,” said Simonsen, a 23-year-old from Little Elm. “You’ve got to do it all the time. But I think he could definitely sneak into a cut if he bowled a couple of events.”
The beginning of the PBA Tour this week coincides with the time when ballplayers are building their arm strength and shaking the rust off their swings ahead of spring training. By the time the MLB season starts, the Tour has nearly run its course.
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Betts is only 27 and will turn 28 next off-season, when he is expected to test the free-agent market. He could be staring at a contract worth between $200 million and $300 million, if the past two off-seasons are any indication.
Retirement could be 10 years off, at which point he would have the time to make the full-time commitment to bowling. At the very least, he has wondered how he would fare.
“I don’t know what I’m going to full time,” Betts said. “The objective is not to have any obligations, so if I want to do this full-time, sure, I think I could be pretty good at it. I don’t know about winning tournaments, because that’s tough to do, but I think I could be pretty good at it. Definitely compete each and every tournament.”
One thing is unmistakable: his passion for the sport.
Simonsen said he and fellow tour member DJ Archer, from Frienswood, were Betts’ guests at a game at Fenway Park, and all he wanted to do afterward was hang out and talk bowling.
“The love that he has for the sport of bowling is insane,” said Simonsen, 23, the youngest bowler in PBA history to win two major titles. “He loves to bowl. I think it’s cool to have somebody as successful as they are at their own profession to have that desire.
“He wants to compete. He’s not like he’s just out there and if he bowls bad he’s just going to be like, ‘Whatever.’ The guy actually gets upset about it, which makes it pretty cool.”
Betts’ group started its qualifying games Wednesday night. The top 14 will go head to head until five bowlers remain for the championship round Sunday afternoon.
Will Betts be there? He’s facing long odds.
“Just don’t come in last,” he said, again.
But Duke, who has 40 career titles, sees elite bowling talent and the desire to win in one of baseball’s best players.
“If he believed he couldn’t win, he would not enter,” Duke said. “If he wanted to dedicate himself to the sport, well, heck, there’s no telling what he could do. Mookie has got skills.”
