All you need to know about when Cody Bellinger got an opportunity to relish his dream of playing in the MLB.
Cody Bellinger was born in Scottsdale, Arizona on July 13, 1995. He is the son of former major leaguer Clay Bellinger, who won two World Series with the New York Yankees. Bellinger began playing baseball at a young age and spent a lot of time as a child hanging out in the clubhouses of major league teams. When he was 10 years old, he competed in the Little League World Series for Chandler, Arizona. That year’s tournament was in 2007.
Bellinger continued to play baseball far into his teenage years and was a standout for Hamilton High School’s baseball team. He was a good hitter, but he also had a talent for pitching, as evidenced by the fact that he once pitched a complete game shutout in a national tournament despite allowing four hits.
The Los Angeles Dodgers made the selection of Bellinger in the fourth round of the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft. His choice to instantly turn professional was influenced by a signing bonus of $700,000. Bellinger started his professional career with the Dodgers’ Arizona League affiliate not long after he graduated from high school and before he signed with the Dodgers.
Since that time, Bellinger has played in the Minors and has had both success and failure there. Bellinger began the 2017 campaign with the Dodgers’ top Minor League affiliate and continued tearing the cover off the ball until he was promoted to the major leagues at the end of April.
Bellinger made an early impression in the Major Leagues, hitting his first multi-home run game just five games into his career. After Adrian Gonzalez went on the injured list, he finally took over at first base and thrived with an increased workload.
Bellinger hit.261/.342/.619 in the first half, earning him a spot in his first All-Star Game and the unanimous National League Rookie of the Year award. He concluded the season with a.267/.352/.581 hitting line and an NL rookie record 39 home runs, which New York Mets All-Star Pete Alonso has since beaten.
Bellinger started the 2019 season with a chip on his shoulder, hoping to come back and improve against the same split. He got off to a hot start, eventually earning NL Player of the Month honors for April. Bellinger was able to build on his early success and was selected to his second All-Star Game. An equally excellent second half reinforced what would be an award-laden offseason.
Over 661 plate appearances, Bellinger hit.305/.406/.629 with 34 doubles, 47 home runs, 115 RBI, and 15 stolen bases in 156 games. He was elected NL MVP, received Silver Slugger accolades, and received a Gold Glove Award for his defensive brilliance. He received great feedback at three different positions, with most of his effort coming from the right field. Bellinger also met his goal of hitting better against left-handed pitching. In 228 at-bats, he hit 280/.386/.596 with 18 home runs.
Bellinger paid out in his first year of arbitration eligibility after putting together one of the best individual seasons in Dodgers history, signing a one-year, $11.5 million contract for the 2020 season, beating the previous record set by Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant. After a couple of poor seasons, Bellinger is now out of Los Angeles and will be playing for the Chicago Cubs in the upcoming season. Hopefully, the star CF will be able to regain his old form in Chicago.
In his six seasons with the Dodgers, he had a .248 batting average, 652 hits, 152 home runs, 422 RBIs and 434 runs scored. He has won 1 Gold Glove award, 1 MVP award, the Rookie of the Year award, 1 Silver Slugger award, 1 League Championship MVP award, and 1 World Series.
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