Dodgers' Mookie Betts Visits Alhambra Raising Cane's

Hundreds of fans dressed in Dodger blue flocked to Raising Cane’s in Alhambra Wednesday morning for a chance to meet Dodgers shortstop Mookie Betts.

Betts worked the counter and greeted fans to raise money for his nonprofit 5050 Foundation, which works to build sports programs at inner city schools.

Fans began lining up at Raising Cane’s as early as 9 p.m. Tuesday night. By the time Betts arrived for his shift at 10 a.m., more than 700 fans were waiting in line, the restaurant estimated. People drove in from as far as West Covina and beyond for the event.

“We’re very lucky,” said marketing manager Lauren Greenwood. “The Alhambra community has been wonderful to us. It was awesome to see everyone show up for us.”

Only the first group of fans were able to enter and order from Betts, but staff handed out Dodgers jerseys and posters for others in line. Betts came out briefly on stage to greet fans, leaving around 10:30 a.m.

Alhambra resident Dillon Pineda and his son Alexander showed up a little after 10 just to catch a glimpse of Betts from a distance.

“It was pretty cool just to see Alhambra in a sea of blue,” Pineda said. He comes from a whole clan of devoted Dodgers fans, including his father, who collected baseball cards and hats. They go to four to five games a year, with nineyear-old Alexander already well-educated in Dodgers history.

Alexander said he was able to see “a little bit” of Betts, one of his favorite players along with Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani.

When Pineda first heard Betts was coming to Alhambra, he was shocked.

“Normally stuff like this we get excluded,” Pineda said. “It was nice having it out here.”