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October 20, 2018

Will Mookie Betts Play Second Base In The World Series?

Red Sox manager Alex Cora said today that J.D. Martinez and Mookie Betts will play every game of the upcoming World Series - which means that for the two (or three) games in the National League park, either Andrew Benintendi or Jackie Bradley will be out of the starting lineup*.

Unless ...

Has Cora considered moving the best right fielder in the major leagues to second base?

Cora laughed when that possibility was raised:
That's the first question for the World Series? Wow. I don't know, man. He already played second during the regular season, so there's always a chance, I guess. ... One thing for sure, J.D. is going to play. That's clear. So we'll see which alignment is better, which lineup is better and we'll make decisions accordingly. ... You're going to see Mookie taking ground balls at second, but he's been doing it the whole season, so do not overreact with it. That's part of his preparation. But we'll talk today. We'll talk about it.
Betts was a second baseman in the minor leagues and he started 14 games there for the Red Sox in late 2014.

On August 3 of this season, Betts filled in at second for six innings after Ian Kinsler left a game against the Yankees with an injury. Mookie called that cameo "a dream come true".


*: The Red Sox have constructed their team a certain way to best compete in the American League. When the World Series is played in the National League park, however, they will be forced to use a weaker lineup, because MLB insists on having two sets of rules for the most important games of the season.

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