Two years ago this week, Mookie Betts and the Dodgers entered into a committed relationship.

In the uncertain, unsettled early months of the coronavirus pandemic, Betts made a very certain, very settled decision about his future, agreeing to a 12-year, $365 million contract with the Dodgers and signing away most of his working life before ever playing in a game that counted for them.

Only one player will earn more over the life of their current contract (Mike Trout, $426.5 million over 12 years). No Dodger has ever signed for more or for as long. The contract will pay Betts through his age-39 season and continue paying him deferred money into 2044 – a year that seems pulled from a science fiction movie.

Time travel might be possible by 2044. If it is, Betts would go back in time and tell his 2020 self to sign on the dotted line.

“Honestly, I would just tell him to do the same thing,” Betts says now. “I think what we did – me and my representatives, me and my family, the decisions we came up with – I wouldn’t change at all.

“That was kind of like the home run deal for us at the time. If it was a home run deal, you take it. If it wasn’t then I wouldn’t. Play it out and see what happens. I was definitely willing to do that. I was willing to walk away. But they met our home run deal. Now I’m here.”

He is here for a very long time. But long-term contracts like Betts’ seem to come with buyer’s remorse built in – think Albert Pujols’ 10-year deal with the Angels (he was released before it ended) or Robinson Cano’s 10-year deal with the Seattle Mariners (suspended, traded and released before it ended).

For now, though, it is a happy marriage between Betts and the Dodgers, having produced