Cody Bellinger named 2019 NL MVP
By: Rowan Kavner
Tags: Sports, Dodgers, MVP, MLB, Awards

(Juan Ocampo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

by Rowan Kavner

A wide smile developed across the face of Cody Bellinger, already a Gold Glover and Silver Slugger, as he sat at his parents’ home Thursday in Arizona with his girlfriend and his sister to his left, his mother to his right and his father and friends behind him.

Upon being named the 2019 National League Most Valuable Player, becoming the first Dodger to win the award since Clayton Kershaw in 2014 and the first Dodger position player to earn the honor since Kirk Gibson in 1988, his parents’ arms raised into the air. He was pulled in all directions, his left arm clutched by his girlfriend while his mother pulled his neck in for a hug. His father started to clap as he walked around the couch. Bellinger stood up and shared a lengthy embrace with his dad.

Soon, tears began to well up in Bellinger’s eyes.

“That’s what made me emotional right there, for sure,” Bellinger said.

He described the honor as a dream come true — the kind of moment you imagine as a kid but never actually believe will come to fruition. Growing up, it was his father, former Major League Clay Bellinger, who taught him to respect the game, to hustle when no one was looking. It was Clay who would throw batting practice to Cody and coach him up.

“Every step of the way, he was there,” Cody Bellinger said. “He dropped everything he could to come and throw. I owe everything to him.”

Like his father, emotions rarely get the best of Cody Bellinger. He said he hadn’t cried in years and could pinpoint the last time it happened, when his first dog, a golden retriever named Angel, passed away.

This time, the tears arrived in a much happier fashion.

“I’ve never seen my dad show emotion, either,” Cody Bellinger said. “When I saw that, that really hit me right there.”

Bellinger bested the Nationals’ Anthony Rendon and the Brewers’ Christian Yelich, a player Bellinger’s become close friends with, to win the award after slashing .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBI, 120 runs and 15 stolen bases in his second All-Star season. He set career highs in each of those categories, as well as hits (170), doubles (34) and walks (95), with a career-low 108 strikeouts.

Bellinger joined Kershaw, Gibson, Steve Garvey (1974), Sandy Koufax (1963) and Maury Wills (1962) as the only Dodgers to win MVP honors since the club’s move to Los Angeles. It’s the 14th time in franchise history the MVP winner has been a Dodger player.

“It’s what you dream of, for sure,” Bellinger said.

With his spectacular 2019 season, Bellinger became the first Dodger player to post a season with at least 45 homers, 115 RBI, 120 runs and an OPS better than 1.000. He led all NL outfielders in homers and RBI, and his 9.0 bWAR led all MLB players while ranking fifth all-time in Dodger history.

Beyond his work at the plate, Bellinger also earned a Gold Glove in right field, where he led all MLB players at his position with 19 defensive runs saved.

He started the 2019 season on a tear, tying the Major League record for home runs in March/April with 14. He finished the season’s first half with a .336 batting average, 30 homers and a 1.124 OPS. He added another 17 home runs in the second half of the season.

In his first three Major League seasons, the former Rookie of the Year has amassed a combined 111 home runs with a .928 career OPS. Bellinger joined Jackie Robinson and Don Newcombe as the only Dodgers to win Rookie of the Year and MVP honors, and he’s the first Arizona-born player ever to win MVP.