'I've always considered myself a middle infielder.' How Mookie Betts excels beyond right field.
SEATTLE — Mookie Betts feels better than he has in a while. Getting past the nagging injuries that hindered him the last two seasons is reason No. 1. Reason No. 2 might seem frivolous: He's running less on defense.
That is one of the benefits of playing more infield than ever before as a major leaguer. All those long jogs from right field to the dugout? Tracking all those balls in the outfield? He says that adds up and takes a toll.
"All the way out there and back 18 times," Betts said last week, pointing to the Dodgers' dugout and out to right field. "Then instead of me taking three steps to the right, backhand, boom, throw to first, you've got to take
