J.D. Martinez tried to pass along some advice to his Dodgers teammate Mookie Betts during a break in the action at the 2023 Home Run Derby.
It didn't have the impact that the designated hitter was hoping.
Martinez's advice to Betts — who had hit 11 home runs before his 30 seconds of bonus time in Round 1 of the derby — was to try to pull the ball to left field.
MORE: Home Run Derby live updates, highlights
Betts' response?
"I don't know how to do that," he told Martinez on ESPN's broadcast of the event.
"I don't know how!"
— ESPN (@espn) July 11, 2023
Mookie getting advice from his teammate J.D. Martinez 😅 pic.twitter.com/9ud6IiLgwV
Obviously, the interaction between the two teammates was good-natured and even comical. It simply seemed like Betts had already concluded that he wouldn't be able to beat Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who hit 26 homers to start the 3- vs. 6-seed matchup.
“Twenty-six was reachable,” Betts said after the event, per Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times. “But, it’s reachable for someone who knows how to hit home runs."
He added: "I went through like three different swings in the middle of it. I was trying. But I just kept hitting line drives."
So, Betts just decided to do his best and finished with 11 home runs. That ranked last among the eight participants in the derby field.
Betts had always been viewed as a longshot to win the Home Run Derby. He had the second-lowest odds to win the event outright, ahead of only Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. Many wondered whether he could consistently produce homers within the allotted time given his 5-9, 180-pound frame.
MORE: Adley Rutschman wows HR Derby spectators with switch-hitting spectacle
Even Betts didn't express much confidence in his ability to win the derby before the event.
"I think my chances are pretty low," Betts said when asked about winning the derby on Monday, before adding, "But you know, they're not zero."
“I think my chances are pretty low.” 😂
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 10, 2023
Mookie Betts was brutally honest about his #HRDerby odds. pic.twitter.com/vCSJJQLa5C
Indeed, it would seem that Betts' focus was on checking the Home Run Derby off his baseball bucket list at the urging of his wife.
Mission accomplished, but don't expect him back in the event any time soon.
"The whole thing is super cool,” Betts said of the derby. "It got my juices flowing a little bit. That’s always fun. The main thing was that this is not for me. That’s the best takeaway I got."
