Betts on familiar ground in right field at Yankee Stadium in 2024 when the Dodgers brushed aside New York in five games, the final out coming when Walker Buehler struck out Alex Verdugo.

“I wanted the ball those three times,” Betts said. “It just never came to me.”

Betts had a much different feeling on Saturday night as the Dodgers were trying to finally put away the Toronto Blue Jays in the 11th inning of a classic Game 7.

This time there was a twinge of doubt.

Shortstop Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers turns a double play as third baseman Addison Barger #47 of the Toronto Blue Jays slides into second base to end the game in the 11th inning of the 2025 World Series.Vaughn Ridley/Getty

Betts was at shortstop and the Jays had runners on first and third with one out and the Dodgers leading, 5-4. He felt an unfamiliar twinge of doubt.

“I didn’t want it. I was ready for it if it came but I had never been in that situation before,” Betts told the Globe.

Baseball had other plans. Alejandro Kirk hit a broken-bat two-hopper his way. Betts gloved the ball, took five quick steps to second base to get his timing right and threw sidearm across his body to first baseman Freddie Freeman to complete the double play.

It was the first double play to end a World Series since 1947 when Phil Rizzuto started a 6-4-3 to beat the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts celebrates in the dugout after scoring on a sacrifice fly against the Toronto Blue Jays during the sixth inning in Game 7.Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

Betts flung his cap as the Dodgers clinched their second consecutive championship, something no team had done since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998-2000.

For Betts, it was his fourth ring. He’s the only active player with as many and one of 19 since division play started in 1969.

The Red Sox traded Betts to the Dodgers in 2020 and he agreed to a 12-year contract five months later. This was his plan, to achieve historical success.

“The front office promised me they’d do everything that could do to win. It seems like it’s been a partnership ever since,” Betts said.

It wasn’t easy. The Dodgers lost three of the first five games in the series and had to win the final two games at Rogers Centre. They trailed, 4-3, going into the ninth inning when light-hitting second baseman Miguel Rojas homered with one out off Jeff Hoffman, stunning the sellout crowd.

The Dodgers took the lead on Will Smith’s home run in the top of the 11th.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who started Game 6 and threw 96 pitches, threw 34 more to get the final eight outs. He won three games in the Series and was named MVP.

“This was the toughest World Series I’ve been a part of,” Betts said. “Seven games, everything that happened. Not that that any of them are easy, right? But we never had any momentum in this game. It was going their way the whole time.”

In that sense, it was much like the season for Betts. There was a hill to climb before the reward.

A stomach illness caused him to lose 20 pounds in spring training and sapped his strength for months. Betts also moved from right field to shortstop to help make the lineup more cohesive for manager Dave Roberts.

“This was a tough year for me physically,” Betts said. “It was rough early and I had to get my strength back and was playing catch-up all year. It is what it is. God had a different plan than what I had.”

Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers (R) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 of the 2025 World Series.Vaughn Ridley/Getty

Betts celebrated in the clubhouse with his teammates then made his way back out to the field, sitting on the artificial turf behind first base with his wife, Brianna, and taking in the scene.

He also agreed to donate his glove to the Hall of Fame to be part of its World Series exhibit.

“I couldn’t have imagined winning four rings,” Betts said. “I had a cousin [Terry Shumpert] who played 14 seasons and never made the playoffs. I’ve been blessed.”

So what comes next?

“Keep winning,” he said. “How hard it is to win is what makes it all worth it. This is the reason that we play. Just keep winning.”

Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social‬.