The defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers still appear to be in good position to chase a repeat title in 2025. At 66-48 heading into Wednesday’s afternoon game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Dodgers held the second-best record in the National League, trailing only the surprising Milwaukee Brewers. Their 590 runs scored is more than any other MLB team.
Nonetheless, not all has been well in Chavez Ravine. At the age of 32, and with seven years left to go on his 12-year, $365 million contract, the Dodgers’ eight-time All-Star shortstop is struggling through the worst season at the plate that he’s ever had to endure. Manager Dave Roberts briefly benched Betts last month. That’s how bad his situation has been.
Dismal Numbers For 8-Time All-Star
Betts’ .669 OPS would be not only his career-worst, but the worst by a lot â a full 134 points lower than his previous low of .803 in the 2017 season, when Betts was still with the team that drafted him in the 2011 fifth round, the Boston Red Sox.
His wins above replacement (WAR) number is also well behind his previous career-low WAR. Betts stands at 1.9 after playing 104 games in 2025. His previous low came in his rookie year, 2014, when he appeared in 52 games for Boston with 2.3 WAR.
With 11 home runs in 458 plate appearances, Betts is on a pace to hit just 16 â assuming he equals the number of plate appearances (693) he made in 2023, his last fully healthy season. That number would also be a career low. Even in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Betts belted 16 home runs.
Betts Breaks ‘Alibi Ike’ Taboo
So, what’s going on? How does one of baseball’s elite hitters, whose .881 career OPS ranks him ninth among all qualified active players, suddenly become one of its most mediocre. His current OPS puts him at an extremely unremarkable 134th among all qualified big league hitters.
As long as baseball has been around, players have observed a taboo against making excuses for poor performance â even when those excuses may be legitimate, such as an injury.
Way back in 1915, the now-legendary sportswriter and author Ring Lardner published a short story titled “Alibi Ike,” poking fun at players who offered an “alibi,” or excuse for whatever they did wrong on the field.
But on Tuesday, speaking to Dylan Hernandez of the Los Angeles Times, Betts offered up his own excuse for the struggles and subpar performance he continues to go through in 2025.
âI really havenât been right since I came back from my hand last year,â Betts told the Times reporter. âThink about it. Go and look at it. I havenât been right since.â
Betts was drilled on the left hand by a 98 mph heater thrown by then-Kansas City Royals righty Dan Altavilla on June 16, 2024. The fracture that resulted kept Betts sidelined until August 12.
Quick Backtracking on Excuses
“Betts was an MVP candidate when he went down, hitting .304 at the time. He batted .263 after his return, including .185 over the final 17 games of the regular season,” Hernandez wrote.
Perhaps realizing that his statement to the Times scribe sounded like an “alibi,” Betts quickly attempted to backtrack.
âI wasnât blaming it on my hand or anything. I was just saying since coming back, I havenât done anything. Itâs not just this season,” Betts said, proceeding to downplay the severity of the fractured hand. âIt wasnât like I obliterated my hand. It was a fracture.â
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