New Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani, the Angels’ two-way “sensation” recently landed the cover of Sports Illustrated. I think it’s great that they got two of the area’s best players to grace the cover in what should be an exciting season for both franchises. However, I do have an issue with the cover. The first thing that struck me when I saw the cover was how considerably taller Ohtani is than Betts. The second thing (which I have a problem with) is that Betts is looking up at Ohtani. Imagery is a powerful thing, and when I look at this cover, it seems to me like Sports Illustrated is saying that Mookie is the one with something to prove. Ohtani looks like a seasoned vet while Mookie looks like some young prospect that just got called up and is staring at his idol. Any time a guy has to angle his head more than 45 degrees up he’s better off not looking up at all or just praying there isn’t a camera around to capture the size differential. In Mookie’s case, both things happened, and he’s stuck resembling Ralphie in A Christmas Story looking up at Santa Claus.
Mookie Betts is a former MVP, World Series Champion, 4x All-Star, 3x Silver Slugger, and 4x Gold Glove winner, yet he’s looking up to Ohtani?? His only accolades include winning Rookie of the year back in 2018 and being the most over-hyped player in baseball. I’ll acknowledge that he has great potential, but I’m the type of person that needs to see it to believe it…and Ohtani hasn’t been overly impressive yet; its probably because he’s only played just over 100 games in each of his first two seasons. Once he can stay healthy for an entire year and puts up some Betts-esque numbers, I’ll put some respect on his name.
The only pose that wouldn’t come off as disrespectful to Betts is if they were both facing the camera – I don’t care if they’re smiling or not, just facing the camera. Even if they were facing each other, Betts would look inferior due to his height, being that he’d still be forced to look up at Ohtani. I demand a re-shoot.
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