Too Small to Matter Too Good to

The scouting concern. The official record. The thing that was written down and filed and considered a legitimate issue for a period of time that has since passed.

Somewhere, at some point, a scout wrote something in a report. The report said: good bat, good glove, good arm, good speed. And then it said: size. And what it meant by size was that Mookie Betts stands 5'9", which is a height that is shorter than some other heights, and that this height was considered, at that time, to be a potential limiting factor in his development as a professional baseball player. The report was filed. The report was read. People discussed the report. They discussed it with the measured caution of people who have seen smaller players struggle and who wanted to be careful and who were doing their jobs as they understood them to be. And then Mookie Betts played professional baseball. He played it for one year, and then another year, and then more years after that, at a level of excellence that accumulated Gold Gloves and an MVP and a World Series ring and a series of moments that required people to stand up in their seats regardless of which team they were rooting for, and at no point during any of this did his height change, and at no point did the concern about his height turn out to be the relevant factor in what was happening, and the report is still out there somewhere, presumably, filed correctly, technically accurate in all the ways that turned out not to matter.

The Betts Too Small tee is for Dodgers fans who know the story, appreciate the irony, and have watched Mookie Betts be too small to do something remarkable approximately four or five times per week throughout a major league season. District DM130 Perfect Tri® Tee — featherlight, broken-in soft, and available in Grey Frost, Royal Frost, and White. A shirt for people who understand that the measurements that matter are not always the ones that scouts initially measure.

• 4.5 oz. — light enough for a fan who already knows that the number on the scale is not the relevant statistic here and never was
• 50% polyester / 25% combed ring-spun cotton / 25% rayon — tri-blend construction that holds together through a full season of Mookie Betts being too small to make a catch that nobody else in right field was going to make
• Rib-knit neck that holds its shape through the broadcaster mentioning Mookie Betts’ size, which they do, because it is genuinely remarkable in the context of what he produces, which is the point
• Tear-away label — no irritation at the collar, just a clean, well-built shirt for someone who has appreciated the joke since the moment it became clear the joke was on the report
• Shoulder-to-shoulder taping for a structured fit appropriate for someone watching a 5’9" outfielder do things that are not supposed to be possible at 5’9", which he does, regularly, without apparent awareness that this is supposed to be difficult
• Available in Grey Frost, Royal Frost, and White — Dodger colors for a fan watching a Dodger who was flagged as too small and has been proving that wrong, methodically and cheerfully, ever since

Size Chart