In 2019, Mookie Betts was among the Boston Red Sox players who opted out of visiting President Donald Trump in the White House after his team won the prior year's World Series.
Friday, Betts told reporters in Philadelphia that he plans to visit the White House after the Dodgers were invited to celebrate their 2024 World Series victory.
Betts stressed that his decision was not political, but said in 2019, he felt his decision not to go put the focus on him instead of his teammates. Said his teammates’ support in the past made him want to repay the favor.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) April 4, 2025
Why?
"I made it about me," he said of his decision six years ago, via Bill Plunkett of the Southern California News Group on Twitter/X. "I'm not the same person I was then."
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
Betts told reporters that he does not consider his acceptance of Trump's invitation this time around "a political decision."
"I want to be there with my boys because they've been there for me," he said, via Plunkett.
The Dodgers defeated the New York Yankees in a five-game World Series in Oct. 2024, the franchise's eighth championship.
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Betts was not alone in declining the 2019 invitation. Red Sox manager Alex Cora also made headlines when he declined the invitation to visit the White House with the rest of his World Series-winning team.
Mookie Betts said he will be going to the White House with the Dodgers on Monday
— Jack Harris (@ByJackHarris) April 4, 2025
He said he wanted to be there with the rest of the team after how they supported him last year; and felt like when he didn’t go with the Red Sox in 2019, it made the story about him
At the time, the Puerto Rican native said the federal government has done "some things back home that are great," but added that "we still have a long ways to go."
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Puerto Rico was recovering from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Maria at the time, and many took Cora's words and actions as a direct reflection of Trump's response to the toll of the natural disaster.
Cora addressed the incident in an episode of The Mayor's Office with Sean Casey in January.
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"One of the things that — it's not that I regret, but I think I should've been more clear — it was a visit to the White House," Cora said. "I have nothing against the President at that moment. It was Donald Trump at that moment, President Trump, but I felt me celebrating something at that stage, while (Puerto Ricans) were still suffering, it was bad. I didn't feel comfortable doing it."
Betts never elaborated on why he decided not to visit the White House in 2019. He was traded to the Dodgers in Feb. 2020 and has thrived in his new city, making four National League All-Star teams in the four full seasons since.
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J.P. Hoornstra writes and edits Major League Baseball content. A veteran of 20 years of sports coverage for daily newspapers ... Read more