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Fan fulfills promise of naming daughter after Mookie Betts following slugger’s homer

Mookie Betts #50 of the Los Angeles Dodgers singles in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 10, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

A Los Angeles Dodger fan recently fulfilled his promise of naming his daughter after Mookie Betts weeks after telling the slugger he’d do so if he hit a home run.

The former MVP shared the story on his Instagram Tuesday, detailing how the promise went down.


Betts said it started while he was on deck at Dodger Stadium when a fan clad in the team’s jersey said he’d give his daughter the middle name Mookie if he hit it out of the park.

Betts said he laughed and told the fan, “Don’t do that, bro … your wife wouldn’t like that.”

The fan, who appeared to be on the phone, said he was going to tell his wife about the bet he was making with Betts.

In true Silver Slugger fashion, Betts indeed homered during the at bat, and gave the fan a fist bump after rounding the bases.

Video of the encounter shared on MLB’s Instagram shows Betts smiling while fans yell “Let’s go!” and “He did it!”

Weeks later, Betts saw a photo of an Aug. 7 birth certificate from Huntington Memorial Hospital with his name on it: Francesca Mookie Mancuso.

“Shout out to you, Giuseppe,” Betts said in his Instagram video. “I can’t wait to meet Francesca. That’s going to be my girl.”

The two-time World Series winner said the whole experience was “neat.”

“One of the coolest moments of ya boy’s entire career! Bro is a man of his word 😂👶🏼 #babymookie,” the caption in his video post read.