Mookie Betts opens up on culture shift from Red Sox to Dodgers

Mookie Betts is one of the most talented and beloved players in Major League Baseball. The eight-time All-Star and three-time World Series champion is one of the most accomplished players in baseball.

Even though he remains an elite player on the field, he has also been able to continue evolving off of the field by expanding his interests in several different fields.

The Los Angeles Dodgers superstar has parlayed his incredible personality into one of the most successful baseball podcasts available. The future Hall of Famer started his show called "On Base with Mookie Betts," which sees the star discuss a wide range of topics with baseball players both past and present.

Despite being able to thrive as a star for the Los Angeles Dodgers and as a media personality, Betts explained how he has only been able to achieve this as he has matured as a man.

In an interview with Jarred Carrabis of "Baseball is Dead," Betts explained that he was not ready to be able to do this during his tenure with the Boston Red Sox earlier in his career.

"In Boston, I was in a different place in life. I didn't have any kids, I was this young kid coming up, I had Big Papi (David Ortiz), (Dustin) Pedroia, Mike Napoli, Jonny Gomes. ... That was kind of the way in Boston, you keep your head down, you stay focused, and you do your job. I'm very, very thankful for that because it taught me to work. It taught me to stay focused on the task at hand [15:44]," Mookie explained.

Mookie Betts enjoyed a tremendous career with the Boston Red Sox, winning a World Series title and an American League MVP Award. Despite his status among the team and fans, Mookie was not the personality he is now with the Los Angeles Dodgers. That being said, Betts will be the first to admit that he has been able to expand his net as he continues to grow older and more experienced in MLB.

"As I've gotten older, and now that I have more years behind me than I have in front of me, you have to set up the next part of life... I feel like God has blessed me with the ability to have a podcast, be an entrepeneur, have a production company, and play baseball. ... When I was in Boston I wasn't ready to do that and the market of Boston may not allow you do that [16:12]," Mookie continued.

Mookie Betts has been dealing with an illness, which kept him out of the Tokyo Series

As Opening Day rapidly approaches, there have been some questions about Mookie Betts' availability for the Los Angeles Dodgers. The superstar was kept out of the team's two-game series against the Chicago Cubs at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

The illness, which remains a bit of a mystery, reportedly caused Mookie Betts to lose 15 pounds. As a result of the weight loss, there is a chance that the star could miss some additional time as he will need to get back into game shape. The health of the former MVP will be something to monitor for Dodgers fans moving forward.