A content Mookie Betts has closed the book on his time in Boston. Red Sox fans aren’t as fortunate.

By There were no surprises to be found out at Fenway Park on Friday night. As he’s done throughout his decade-long tenure so far in the big leagues, Mookie Betts etched his name all over the box score. The five-tool superstar doubled, scored two runs, and uncorked a rally-ending howitzer from right field in his first game in Boston in 1,425 days.

, a sellout crowd at Fenway Park welcomed Betts back to Boston with a thunderous ovation — prompting a tip of the helmet and a salute to a fanbase he routinely lifted out of those wooden grandstand seats with a run-robbing catch in right “Now batting, number 50, Mookie Betts. ” For the first time since September 30, 2019, returns to Fenway Park. And as they’ve done all season long, the 2023 Red Sox squandered whatever momentum they carried into a statement contest thanks to Everything that played out in Betts’ anticipated return followed the script we all expected.

From the day the 2023 schedule dropped, August 25 was poised to be a day of reckoning for a Red Sox organization left largely rudderless since deciding to ship their homegrown franchise star out west. The revelry that poured out from the stands as Betts strode up to home plate stood in stark contrast to the gloomy mist that hovered over the ballpark all night. Granted, it was a fitting canvas for Friday’s festivities, with the Fenway Faithful’s collective cheers rooted in both appreciation and melancholy — grateful for all Betts had achieved in a Red Sox uniform, and pained by the sight of him in Dodger blue.

For some Red Sox fans, Friday opened old wounds. It’s a painful exercise that has been carried out time and time again since Betts first put on an L. A.

cap in February 2020. It’s destined to be repeated again and again until Boston fields a sustainable, contending roster. But as the wheels continue to churn for Boston fans looking for any semblance of salvation for the future, Betts’ path has finally come full circle.

And now he’s ready to move on. “It’s business. Both sides gonna take care of themselves and so sometimes it may not be in the best interest for both.

But it is what it is,” Betts said of Boston trading him. “I don’t know if it was or wasn’t. But that’s not where we are now.

“I’m wearing an L. A. jersey, got two kids, got a production company, got podcasts, I got a lot of things going on in my life now … I’m super happy where I’m at.

I’m very blessed and very happy. I’m at peace with my life now. … It’s a little bit easier to say, ‘Wow, that was super cool.

But that’s not even remotely close to who you are now. ’ So there’s no sense in trying to draw a parallel. ” For all of the pressure that comes in a market like Boston, Betts thrived off of it.

That scrutiny kept Betts on a linear path toward success, evolving from a fresh-faced, 21-year-old rookie into a perennial MVP candidate during his time with the Red Sox. “I knew every day I put the uniform on, you’ve got to play well, no matter what. The media, the fans, the people will let you know,” Betts said of playing in Boston.

“That’s the blessing. That’s the good part. That’s what I enjoy so much.

It’s almost like a fear of hearing what people had to say. It’s kind of what drove me to be successful. ” But at 30, the burden no longer falls on Betts to prove himself.

One of the few unquestioned faces of baseball in 2023, Betts has relished the opportunities available in his new home in Los Angeles. Beyond the various media ventures on hand in that market, Betts finally feels comfortable in his own skin, no longer the guarded superstar who let his play do most of the talking with the Red Sox. “I know people are saying he’s happier over there,” Alex Cora said of Betts’ move to Los Angeles.

“I think he’s more relaxed over there. Not a hit to the culture over there, but more relaxed. I played there, I played here.

I know how it works. … I know why it’s different. But at the end of the day, they’re very successful.

He’s part of what they’ve accomplished. ” It should come as no surprise that a powerhouse franchise like the Dodgers has managed to sustain their winning ways since Betts made it to town. Along with helping the Dodgers win their first World Series in 32 years during the 2020 season, Betts has batted .

282 with a . 912 OPS, with 108 home runs and 268 RBI over 439 career games with his new team. For all of the concerns over whether or not Betts was going to be worth the 12-year, $365 million mega-deal he inked with the Dodgers, he’s already accumulated a 20.

9 WAR over his four years with his new team. He’s on his way to securing his second career MVP award, and first in a Dodgers jersey. While Betts still dominates, the Dodgers have followed up their title season with two more 100-win seasons.

At 79-48, Dave Roberts and Co. are well on their way to accomplishing the feat once again this fall. As Betts basks in the present, Red Sox fans find solace in the glory days past — and try to seek comfort in the future.

Beyond their impressive run to the ALCS in 2021, the Red Sox have posted two last-place finishes since Betts was dealt away. They currently sit in fourth place this year in a cutthroat AL East. Building a bedrock of success with high-ceiling youngsters like Brayan Bello, Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, Triston Casas, Kyle Teel and others offers the best path forward for a fanbase looking to finally move on from the Betts deal and the pain that came with it.

Hope does sit on the horizon for Boston, with Chaim Bloom’s long-term outlook yielding fruitful returns within the farm system. Perhaps in the next year or two, the Red Sox fanbase can finally take a page out of Betts’ book, soak in the moment, and appreciate the present once again. It’s just a shame that whatever next chapter Boston pens doesn’t involve a player like Betts.

“That was a very, very dope chapter in my life,” Betts said of life in Boston. “But the chapter I’m in right now — I’m enjoying it so much. I love it so much.

I wouldn’t trade it for the world. ” Get breaking news and analysis delivered to your inbox during baseball season. Be civil.

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