Red Sox Rookie Heals Famous Sportswriter Haunted By Dodgers' Mookie Betts

Sep 23, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Boston Red Sox right fielder Mookie Betts (50) on deck to bat during the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images Kim Klement-Imagn Images

Have the Boston Red Sox finally found a player special enough to exorcise the ghost of Mookie Betts?

It’s now been over five calendar years since Boston traded Betts to the Los Angeles Dodgers, but plenty of Red Sox fans still aren’t over the deal, which, in all fairness, was one of the worst trades in franchise history.

It certainly doesn’t help that Betts has gone on to win not one, but two World Series titles with the Dodgers since leaving Boston.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox have trended in the opposite direction until this past offseason.

Yes, there is hope and possible World Series contention once again on the horizon for Boston.

Better yet, the Red Sox may have a new star in their midst capable of shining as brightly as Betts once did in a Boston uniform, at least according to longtime Boston sports fan and prominent sportswriter Bill Simmons of The Ringer, who delivered an iconic post to X on Thursday about his beloved Red Sox.

“I’ve been sulking about the Mookie trade for five years but now we are turning the page and moving forward because KRISTIAN CAMPBELL,” Simmons exclaimed.

The post from Simmons arrived not long after Campbell homered for the second time in his nascent career on Thursday. The 22-year-old rookie launched a curveball from Baltimore Orioles starter Charlie Morton over the left field wall at Camden Yards in the second inning. Full disclosure: Morton, 41, was drafted by the Atlanta Braves 22 days before Campbell was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Boston won the game 8-4, with Alex Bregman and Triston Casas also going yard for the Red Sox (each player’s first homer of 2025).

But Campbell remains Boston’s main character (and will until he cools off).

Campbell is now slashing .417/.500/.833 through the first seven games of his career. He’s 10-for-24 at the plate with two home runs, four RBI, four walks, and five strikeouts.

He’ll take the field at Fenway Park for the first time on Friday afternoon when the Red Sox play their home opener versus the St. Louis Cardinals.

Simmons will surely be tuning in.