shoulder surgery

PHOENIX — Since his first full season in 2015, Mookie Betts had either been named an All-Star or received votes for most valuable player every year.

That held true until last year. In his sixth season with the Dodgers, Betts posted career lows in batting average (.258), on-base percentage (.326), and on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.732) while playing 148 games at shortstop.

Betts, now 33, believes last year was an outlier and he can get back to his previous form.

“That’s what I expect,” Betts said after making his Cactus League debut Sunday. “I haven’t felt this way in a long time. So, the way I feel now, I’m healthy, my swing’s in a really good spot. My head’s in a really good spot. I haven’t had any bad days in the cage. I haven’t had any bad days [taking batting practice]. Usually by now, I would have taken a thousand swings, trying to fix stuff, trying to get game-ready, and now I’m just cruising. I’m just cruising and I’m ready to go.”

This spring, manager Dave Roberts offered an unequivocal vote of confidence.

“He will be in the MVP conversation this year,” Roberts said. “But again, I think, speaking for Mookie, his main goal is to help us win a championship. So, I think whatever falls out from there, I think that will happen.”

A stomach bug that caused him to lose a considerable amount of weight put Betts behind last spring, and he never quite caught up. Through his first 103 games, he batted .231 with a .302 on-base percentage and .657 OPS. Enduring the longest cold spell of his career, Betts was forced to retool.

“It’s really just going back to what I what I do best, and really just honing in on it,” Betts said. “Instead of trying to fix problems, I was more able to just hone in on what I do best. And kind of groove those patterns instead of trying to fix old habits.”

Betts says in a bizarre way, he enjoyed his season of soul searching.

“I learned a lot about myself,” Betts said. “I learned a lot about how I operate. I was able to get in the right headspace, and sustain the right headspace. And then once I was able to kind of get in the right headspace and stay there, I haven’t been searching, I haven’t been doing anything since I’ve been here outside of just working and preparing.”

Things started to click in late summer. Over his final 47 games, he batted .317 with a .376 on-base percentage and .892 OPS.

It wasn’t the stats that bothered Betts as much as his lack of production through the first four months.

“Once I was able to help the boys, I was fine,” Betts said. But before that, I was really upset, not with the numbers per se, but not being able to help. Not doing my job, carrying my weight. Once I was able to do stuff, especially later on in the season, I was able to just take a step back and say, ‘You did pretty good.’”

Part of the plan for maximizing Betts’ abilities is minimizing his work in camp. Betts was the last healthy position player to appear in a spring game, starting Sunday after sitting for the first nine games. He was back in the lineup Monday, collecting his first hit with a single in three at-bats against the Colorado Rockies.

“It’s intentional,” Roberts said last week. “It’s load management. I wanted Mookie to start a little bit later, as far as not getting into spring training ready to go and kind of use spring training to build up, given it’s six weeks.”

Milan-Cortina Olympics hero Jack Hughes is likely looking at a dental implant to replace teeth knocked from his mouth in the third period of the men’s hockey final between the United States and Canada on Sunday.

Once the euphoria of scoring the winning goal in overtime subsides and celebrations cease, Hughes will undergo a surgical procedure that most dentists agree is far superior to alternatives such as dental bridges or partial dentures.

Titanium posts will be inserted into his jawbone, serving as new roots for the teeth. Once the posts are secure and his mouth has healed, custom crowns matched to his natural teeth in shape, color, and size will be placed on top of each post.

Hughes, who is in year four of an eight-year, $64 million contract with the New Jersey Devils of the NHL, has no worries about affording the best care possible. Sure, health care is free in Italy and he could have remained there for the procedure, but he told reporters he wants it done on home turf.

The United States’ Jack Hughes reacts after receiving his gold medal after Team USA defeated Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game.

(Luca Bruno / AP)

“I’m lucky I’m from the best country in the world, and we’ve got great dentists there, too,” Hughes said while caressing the gold medal hanging from his neck. “I’m lucky I’m American, and they’re gonna fix me right up.”

When Canadian forward Sam Bennett’s high stick slammed into his mouth in the third period, Hughes looked down and rolled his eyes.

“I looked on the ice and saw my teeth,” said Hughes, who had a tooth knocked out in an NHL game a few years ago. “I was like, ‘Here we go again.’ The last time that happened, it wasn’t very fun.”

Losing teeth is an occupational hazard for hockey players. They know implants can be as good as the real thing. Hughes played on even while resembling a Jack-o-lantern.

“Who cares at this point, to be honest?” U.S. teammate Matt Boldy said. “I think more people are looking at his medal than his teeth. I’m sure he’ll be OK.”

Attention certainly focused on Hughes’ heroics in overtime. He re-entered the game a minute into the 3-on-3 overtime and quickly found himself the only U.S. player between Canadian superstar Connor McDavid and the goal.

Oh, and McDavid had the puck on his stick.

Hughes retreated slightly, bracing for another painful collision by using his body as a barrier. McDavid couldn’t get off a clean shot and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — whose game-long heroics will forever be remembered — slapped the puck away.

Less than a minute later, Hughes fielded a cross-ice pass from Zach Werenski and fired it past Canadian goaltender Jordan Binnington. Game over.

“I got it to the right guy,” Werenski said. “He’s been hot all tournament.”

That hasn’t been true for long. Hughes underperformed in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off — which Canada won — before shoulder surgery ended his NHL season. This season, he missed five weeks with the Devils after slicing his right thumb open on broken glass at a team dinner.

His older brother and teammate Quinn Hughes, who led the U.S. team with eight points during the Olympics, knows the emotional roller-coaster that Jack has endured. The thrill ride couldn’t have ended any better.

“[Jack] is an animal,” Quinn said. “He’s gone through a lot with his shoulders. He takes a lot of [crap]. No one loves the game more than him. He’s got so much passion. He’s a gamer. He made it happen.”

Their parents, Jim and Ellen, were in attendance. Ellen Weinberg-Hughes is a Player Development Consultant for the U.S. women’s hockey team, which also won gold. No doubt mom will be scheduling that dentist appointment for Jack sooner than later.