Mookie Betts has one of the most recognizable names in baseball. Thanks to a mammoth home run that he hit earlier this month, the Los Angeles Dodgers star now shares his name with a newborn baby girl.
On Tuesday, Betts uploaded a video on Twitter to share a story that sounded like it came straight out of a Dodgers fan fiction forum. The former MVP detailed his encounter with a Dodgers fan named Giuseppe Mancuso, who was sitting near the on-deck circle during an August 2 home game against the Oakland Athletics.
“Back a couple of weeks ago, I was on deck and this guy started talking to me. He said, Mook, if you hit a home run, I’ll name my daughter, her middle name, Mookie.’ And I heard this and I laughed. And he said he was serious,” said Betts in the video.
Despite Betts imploring Mancuso not to do it, the fan remained adamant that he would name his daughter “Mookie” pending a home run. As fate would have it, Betts hit the farthest home run of his Dodgers career — a 436-foot moon shot to left field — in that very at-bat. Betts gave Mancuso a fist bump right after rounding the bases.
One of the coolest moments of ya boy’s entire career! Bro is a man of his word 😂👶🏼 #babymookie pic.twitter.com/rVIG4VWJVe
— Mookie Betts (@mookiebetts) August 15, 2023
Five days later, Mancuso’s daughter was born. Betts confirmed that Mancuso was a man of his word when the Dodgers star saw the baby girl’s birth certificate circulating on Twitter labeled “Francesca Mookie Mancuso.”
Hey @Dodgers @mookiebetts @SportsNetLA a bet is a bet. Meet Francesca Mookie Mancuso pic.twitter.com/YftfboJeFV
— Giuseppe Mancuso (@littleragu54) August 10, 2023
“I can’t wait to meet Francesca. That’s going to be my girl,” Betts said.
Mancuso and Betts even exchanges replies on the post, indicating that a meet-up appears to be in the works.
I still can’t believe it bro 😂 Congrats!
— Mookie Betts (@mookiebetts) August 15, 2023
Even if Francesca is still just a few weeks old at this point, she already owns one of the coolest name origin stories ever.
