Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Dodgers star intends to compete in Home Run Derby

By Mike Santa Barbara | Last updated Jun 18, 2023 10:17 PM ET

We still don't know the participants for July's Mid-Summer Classic, with the MLB All-Star Game roughly a month away. In an interview with Harold Reynolds of MLB Network Sunday, though, Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts nonchalantly announced that he would participate in this year's long-ball showcase.

"I'll see you in Seattle - oh, I'm doing the Home Run Derby too. You got any advice for me?" Betts asked Reynolds. "I'm going to do it. As long as I'm an All-Star, I got to be an All-Star first. Then, I'm going to do it."

You heard it here first!

If @mookiebetts is an All-Star, he'll participate in the @TMobile Home Run Derby!!! pic.twitter.com/AaDLPX46qy
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 18, 2023

After voting closes on June 29, Betts will likely be among those named to the National League All-Star team. MLB's latest All-Star Game voting update showed Betts with 676,491 votes, second-most among outfielders in the NL. Betts trails only Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. (1,086,537), who is currently on pace for MLB's first 30/60 season.

The 30-year-old Betts had a modest 11-game hit-streak snapped in the Dodgers' 7-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. Entering play, only red-hot Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani had a longer hitting streak (14). Before his 0-for-5 day against the Giants, Betts was 15-of-46 with two home runs and seven RBI over his last 53 plate appearances.

As for his home run prowess, after hitting a career-high 35 dingers in 2022, Betts ranks eighth in MLB and sixth in the NL with 17 this year. Only teammate Max Muncy (18), the Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber (20), Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson (20), Miami Marlins' Jorge Soler (20) and New York Mets' Pete Alonso (22) have more.

Mike Santa Barbara

Mike Santa Barbara is a Wilmington, Delaware native (Yes, it's a real place) with over a decade of sports writing experience. A diehard Philadelphia sports fan, he has two dogs named after Flyers and cried real tears when the Eagles won Super Bowl LII. You can follow him on Twitter at @mike__sb

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