FORT MYERS, Fla. - If Mookie Betts doesn't eventually sign a long-term contract extension with the Boston Red Sox, he insists it won't be because of anything that was said about him during an arbitration hearing last month.
Betts sat in the room Jan. 31 when a panel of three independent judges heard arguments over the star right fielder's value. Betts was seeking a $10.5 million salary. The Red Sox wanted to pay him $7.5 million.
Ultimately, the arbitrators ruled in Betts' favor, but not before the Red Sox presented reasons why they believed he wasn't worth as much as he thought.