Getty BOSTON, MA - JULY 28: Mookie Betts #50 of the Boston Red Sox hits a double in the botton of the fourth inning of the game against the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park on July 28, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Omar Rawlings/Getty Images)
Contrary to what some people may believe, Mookie Betts’ real birth name has nothing to do with the name ‘Mookie,’ or with the infamous Mookie Wilson, whose ground ball in the 1986 World Series shattered the hopes and dreams of Red Sox fans around the world.
On the contrary, Mookie Betts’ real name is Markus Lynn Betts. And no, it was not on purpose for the superstar Sox player’s initials to spell out M-L-B.
According to MassLive, Betts’ mother, Diana Benedict, wanted to combine both her own family history with her husband’s family history. Thus she named her son after his father, whose name is Markus, and gave him a nickname as an ode to her sister, whose name is Cookie.
It didn’t hurt that Betts’ parents loved Mookie Blaylock, a guard for the Atlanta Hawks, during the year that Betts was born.
Thus the name Markus ‘Mookie’ Lynn Betts was born.
This year continues to be good to me!!! Can’t wait to meet you baby Betts❤️more life, more blessings!!!
On August 8, Betts announced that his girlfriend was pregnant with their first child. They have yet to announce whether the world can expect a Mookie Betts Jr.