Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Mookie Betts changes his stance on visiting White House

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Apr 4, 2025 6:07 PM ET

Mookie Betts will visit the White House this year after all.

Betts has won the World Series three times during his career, but next week will mark his first time celebrating the championship with his team in Washington D.C.

Betts was AL MVP in 2018, the same season his Boston Red Sox won the World Series. He was among several members of the Red Sox, which included manager Alex Cora, who did not visit the White House in 2019 to celebrate the championship.

Betts now says that his decision not to visit the White House in 2019 was not political. Although Donald Trump is in the White House again as he was from 2016-2020, Betts says he will join his Los Angeles Dodgers at the White House on Monday. He says it’s more important for him to attend to be there for his teammates and not take attention away from them.

“I made it about me. … I’m not the same person I was then,” Betts said, via Dodgers reporter Bill Plunkett.

Said he regrets decision not to participate in Red Sox visit in 2019. “I made it about me. … I’m not the same person I was then”
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) April 4, 2025

It’s hard to believe it, but Betts has been with the Dodgers for six seasons now, which is as many years as he spent with the Red Sox. The Dodgers also won the World Series during the shortened 2020 season, but they did not make a trip to the White House due to complications from the pandemic. Now that he is 32, Betts probably recognizes he should take advantage of a chance to join his teammates at the White House while he still has the opportunity to do so.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: