Mookie Betts thanks Red Sox legend David Ortiz for getting him over rock bottom

Mookie Betts and the Dodgers were once again in danger of postseason failure, but the former Boston Red Sox star got the motivation he needed to step up when it mattered most.

Los Angeles completed the National League Division Series by eliminating the San Diego Padres in Game 5. Dave Roberts' team advanced to the NL Championship Series for the first time since 2021 and will face the red-hot New York Mets.

Betts finally broke through an 0-for-22 loss when he went 2-for-4 with a home run and two runs scored in Game 3 of the NLDS on Tuesday. He then went 2-5 with a home run in Game 4 on Wednesday. And despite his 0-3 performance on Friday, he will use his momentum in the hunt for a third World Series ring.

The 2018 American League MVP's breakthrough came after David Ortiz gave the former Red Sox star a motivational speech that further reinforced the duo's special relationship.

“It was much more special than anyone could imagine. “He comes and debuts and has him next to me, he doesn’t realize it because he’s playing, but I look at him and he’s an icon to me,” Betts said on the FOX postgame show. “The relationship we have built over time usually disappears, especially when he is retired and I am still playing. But I would say it's actually gotten closer as the company has grown. I talk to him about every two weeks. He checks in. I'm checking in. And for him to call me, especially at a time like that – a downtime, I was really down – and he called me and just gave me words of encouragement and told me that everything is going to be cool. Just smile. Smile and it worked.”

Ortiz told Betts he loved him before showing him a T-shirt of his that said “My Buddy.” His former Red Sox colleague Kiké Hernández also went viral after Game 5, although for different reasons. They have a rest day before Game 1 of the NLCS begins on Sunday.