The folks at Merriam-Webster define sportsmanship as “conduct (such as fairness, respect for one’s opponent, and graciousness in winning or losing) becoming to one participating in a sport.” If you follow Major League Baseball (MLB), you may see displays of sportsmanship at almost every game. Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers gave us a great example with the first home run ball hit by Cincinnati Reds rookie TJ Friedl.
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Mookie Betts is a well-known player. He has played shortstop for the Boston Red Sox and LA Dodgers. In 2016, the Dodgers moved him into right field, where he was playing when a rookie on the opposing team hit his first major league home run. Knowing the moment and the ball were special, Mookie Betts approached the fans who caught the ball. He offered to trade the ball for one of his bats. The fans accepted the offer and tossed the ball onto the field.
Mookie threw the ball to the other team’s dugout, explaining that it was the ball that had just been smashed out of the park. The next inning, Mookie took one of his bats to the outfield for the gracious fans. He didn’t have to make that trade. He didn’t need to worry about retrieving the ball for the other player. However, the moment created a textbook example of sportsmanship.
Other moments of sportsmanship in professional sports happen daily. Baseball players help each other after sliding into the base. Basketball players reach out to opposing players who land on the floor. When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac event in 2023, players from both football teams created a privacy barrier around him while medics worked on him.
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