Mookie Betts will be a married man very soon. According to PEOPLE, the Los Angeles Dodgers star recently got engaged to his girlfriend of 15 years Brianna Hammonds. The couple met in middle school and have one daughter together.
“Brianna has been by my side since we were teenagers,” Betts told PEOPLE. “Together we’ve grown mentally, physically, and spiritually. She is my best friend, mother of my child, my lover, and my soon-to-be wife. ” Betts popped the question to Hammonds in Nashville, Tennessee. He was recently honored and CC and Amber Sabathia’s PitCCh In foundation with the 2020 LegaCCy Award, and told Hammonds they will be celebrating the honor with dinner with the Sabathia’s. Betts staged an awards ceremony, accepted his award and called Hammonds to the stage to personally thank her. It was then when he read a poem and then asked him to marry her.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“Winning another World Series was great, but putting a ring on my MVP is the real blessing!” Betts stated. “I am a blessed man.” 2021 is off to a great start for Betts was traded to the Dodgers from the Boston Red Sox in February. After a strong six seasons in Boston, Betts had a memorable first-year in L.A. helping the team win their first World Series since 1988 and being named the All-MLB First Team. In the 60-game season, Betts recorded a .292 batting average with 16 home runs, 39 RBIs and 10 stolen bases. He finished second in NL MVP voting behind Freddie Freeman of the Atlanta Braves.
But as much fun Betts had with the Dodgers, he never thought he was going to be traded. “I had initially thought I was going to be a Red Sox for life,” Betts said in an interview with Red Sox legend David Ortiz, as Sports Illustrated reported. “God always has a plan for things and I was just kind of following what he was telling me to do.”
Betts being traded was surprising considering he was arguably the Red Sox’s best player. In 2018, he led to the team to a World Series win and was named AL MVP after finishing the year with a .346 batting, .640 slugging percentage and 129 runs scored. Betts has been named to the All-Star team the last four years (no All-Star game in 2020) and is a five-time Gold Glove winner.
