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Mookie satisfied with 1st Dodgers season: 'It got the job done'

Tom Pennington / Getty Images Sport / Getty

To Mookie Betts, there's only one way to measure success. And although he described his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers as merely "serviceable," Betts said he achieved success in 2020 by winning a World Series championship.

"It got the job done," Betts said Friday about his efforts last year, according to Bill Plunkett of the OC Register. "That's what we're here for."

The former MVP isn't putting pressure on himself to change anything to help the club repeat, either.

"This year, I'm not looking to be any better or any worse," Betts said. "Just come here to do my job. Help the team win, no matter what it takes."

He also said he's confident the Dodgers will maintain last season's focus and commitment after winning the World Series.

"I think it's just kind of carried over," Betts said. "I don't think it needs to be said. I think we kind of see it worked. It wasn't just me, though. It took everybody. ... Everybody kind of bought into the culture and I think that culture is here to stay."

After winning the NL West seven consecutive times and making it to the World Series in two of the previous three seasons, the Dodgers acquired Betts from the Boston Red Sox last winter. L.A. then extended Betts to a 12-year, $365-million contract in the summer. The outfielder helped lead the team to an eighth straight division title and the franchise's first championship since 1988.

Betts also finished as the runner-up for the NL MVP, hitting .292/.366/.562 with 16 homers and 10 steals. Additionally, he claimed his fourth Silver Slugger and fifth Gold Glove.

"I just don't know how many more superlatives you can add," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said about Betts last season.

When told Betts described his 2020 campaign as "serviceable," Roberts said, "Man, I'll take serviceable then if that's what he classified it as."

The Dodgers steamrolled their competition through the first two rounds of the 2020 postseason, winning seven straight games before going the distance against the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS. L.A. needed six games to dispatch the Tampa Bay Rays in the Fall Classic.

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