Mookie Betts on pace to pass MLB legends in key metric

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dodgers' Mookie Betts on pace to pass MLB legends in key metric

By Vanessa Serrao | Last updated Sep 10, 2026 9:32 PM ET

Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts is on pace to climb the ranks of the WAR leaderboard for career positional players.

The future Hall of Famer owns a career 77.9 WAR and has been on a heater in his last 18 games, batting .333/.429/.569, helping to put him within striking distance to pass several baseball legends.

He needs just 0.5 more WAR to pass Brooks Robinson (78.3), 1.1 more to pass Joe DiMaggio (78.9) and 1.8 more to pass Pete Rose (79.6). If he can continue with his recent success over the remaining stretch of the regular season, reaching these milestones could be achievable.

Betts is ranked 44th, and his ascent is noteworthy. While Rose compiled his WAR over a historic 15,890 trips to the plate, Betts achieved this in fewer than half as many plate appearances (7,397).

Mookie Betts last 18 games: .333/.429/.569.
The future Hall of Famer is 128 hits from 2,000 in his career. He's at 77.9 WAR, and soon he'll pass Brooks Robinson, Joe DiMaggio and Pete Rose.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) September 10, 2026

Mookie Betts is heating up at the right time helping to raise his career WAR

Betts has hit six of his 19 home runs in the second half of this season, including three in his last 10 games. He hit his most recent bomb in the series finale against the Cincinnati Reds, a 14-1 victory.

Betts capped off his night going 3-for-5 with the home run and two RBI, and he is slashing .249/.312/.430 on the season with an OPS of .742 and 60 RBI. Betts has been on a heater in September, batting .375 with a 1.224 OPS and 13 RBI. Despite his injury-disrupted start to the season, his late-season surge has come at the perfect time with the postseason weeks away.

Among all shortstops in MLB this season, he is tied for fifth in Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) with eight. While also helping to raise his career WAR, he's continued to play strong and reliable defense for the Dodgers.

Vanessa Serrao

Serrao is a freelance baseball writer who has covered all MLB teams, with particular expertise on the Toronto Blue Jays. She is a member of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America.

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