Background and career
Cody James Bellinger (born July 13, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder and first baseman for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. He was selected by the Dodgers in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB draft and debuted with them in 2017. The son of MLB player Clay Bellinger, Bellinger helped his team reach the 2007 Little League World Series at the age of 11. He played high school baseball for Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona. Bellinger spent two years in the Rookie Leagues before joining the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes in 2015, where he was a mid- and postseason all-star, and helped the team to a California League championship title. A hip injury delayed his rise through the Dodgers' farm system in 2016, but he was called up to the major leagues in April 2017 to bolster a struggling outfield. Bellinger, setting a number of Dodgers single-season home run records, participated in both the 2017 MLB All-Star Game and in the Home Run Derby. He was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Year after the season. The following year, he was named the MVP of the 2018 National League Championship Series following an extra innings walk-off single that helped take the Dodgers to the 2018 World Series. He received the NL MVP, Silver Slugger, and Gold Glove Awards in 2019, as well as his second All-Star selection. Bellinger won his first World Series title with the Dodgers in 2020 over the Tampa Bay Rays. However, a number of injuries to his shoulder, calf, and rib cage caused 2021 to be a career-worst year for Bellinger in home runs and batting average. After another down year in 2022, Bellinger was non-tendered by the Dodgers and eventually signed with the Cubs following the offseason. He won NL Comeback Player of the Year in his first season with Chicago before being traded to the Yankees following his second season with the Cubs in 2024. Bellinger was named to his third All-Star Game in 2026 where he was named All-Star Game MVP.
Cody James Bellinger was born on July 13, 1995, in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Clay and Jennifer Bellinger. His mother works for Sotheby's International Realty, while his father played for the New York Yankees and Anaheim Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 to 2002, winning two World Series in that span. Clay Bellinger also coached the Chandler, Arizona National Little League team, for whom his son played when they went to the 2007 Little League World Series (LLWS). Cody was only 11 years old at the time, one year younger than most of his LLWS teammates, but he helped to clinch a berth in the series with a four-runs batted in (RBI) performance in the Little League West Regional. Chandler advanced to the LLWS in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, but was eliminated in the semifinals by teams from Lubbock, Texas and Warner Robins, Georgia. A few years later, Bellinger became a standout baseball player for Hamilton High School in Chandler. He was voted team MVP as both a junior and as a senior, and hit .429 in his senior season. Although scouts from the Yankees invited Bellinger to a pre-draft practice, most baseball teams were uninterested in using a high draft pick on Bellinger, who stood 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) but weighed only 170 pounds (77 kg) in his final year of high school, and who hit only one home run that season.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Bellinger in the fourth round, 124th overall, of the 2013 MLB draft. At the time, he had committed to play college baseball for the Oregon Ducks. Bellinger chose to forego his commitment to Oregon to sign with the Dodgers for a signing bonus of $700,000, approximately $300,000 more than what was recommended for a fourth-round draft pick. He spent the season with the Rookie League AZL Dodgers, batting .210 in 162 at-bats, with one home run, 30 RBIs, and 25 runs scored. He showed some difficulties with plate discipline, striking out 46 times in 47 games, but showed potential by drawing 31 walks and recording 16 extra-base hits. He continued in Rookie ball the following season with the Ogden Raptors, batting .328 with 34 RBIs in 46 Pioneer League games. Assigned to the Class A-Advanced Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, the 2015 season was Bellinger's first full year in the minor leagues. His prospect performance started to gain attention when, by June 11, he was fifth in the California League with 12 home runs, and was at least three years younger than every other top-five hitter. Although his .557 slugging percentage was comparatively low, this was due in part to the shape of the Rancho Cucamonga Epicenter, which limited home runs. After making an appearance at the midseason California League All-Star Game, Bellinger was also the selected designated hitter for the California League postseason All-Star team. Following the regular minor league season, he helped the Quakes to a Cal League championship title, registering three extra-base hits, including the game-winning home run, to complete their sweep of the San Jose Giants. For his performance, Bellinger was named the California League Championship Series MVP. He batted .264 for the Quakes, recording 30 home runs, 103 RBIs, and 97 runs in 478 at bats. After a strong spring training performance in which he batted .393 in 18 games, Bellinger opened the 2016 season with the Double-A Tulsa Drillers of the Texas League. He missed the first part of the Double-A season with a strained hip, and upon returning from the disabled list in May, Bellinger struggled to make contact, batting .150 through his first 50 at-bats. His drought snapped on May 16, with a walk-off grand slam against the Arkansas Travelers. He spent the bulk of the season in Tulsa, batting .263 with 23 home runs and 65 RBIs in 114 games, but was promoted to the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers on September 3, in advance of the Pacific Coast League playoffs. He played in only three games for Oklahoma City that season, recording three home runs and six RBIs in the process. Having missed a month of the season with his injured hip, Bellinger played for the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League, earning All-Fall League team honors. In 20 games with Glendale, Bellinger hit .314 with three home runs, eight doubles, and 17 RBIs, and he was named a member of the AFL Top Prospects Team. During the 2016–17 MLB offseason, Bellinger and fellow Dodgers prospect Jose De Leon received an invitation to the MLB/MLBPA Rookie Career Development Program in Leesburg, Virginia, where top prospects from each club spend four days learning about life in the major leagues. He began the 2017 season with Oklahoma City, batting .343 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in the first 18 games of the year before receiving a call-up to Los Angeles.
Faced with a struggling and injured outfield, the Dodgers called Bellinger up on April 25, 2017, giving him the start in left field and eighth position in the batting order for that night's game against the San Francisco Giants. Bellinger scored his first major league hit that night, an infield ground ball towards third base. He was also the third Dodger since 1913 to be intentionally walked in his MLB debut, following Chico Fernández in 1956 and Dick Nen in 1963. Four days later, Bellinger hit the first and second home runs of his major league career in a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, first in the seventh inning against Zach Eflin and again as the second of three consecutive home runs against closer Héctor Neris. His first career grand slam came the following week on May 6, helping take the Dodgers to a 10–2 victory over the San Diego Padres and Bellinger to five home runs and 14 RBIs in his first 11 major league games. With a total of nine home runs in May, Bellinger tied Joc Pederson and James Loney for the most home runs by a Dodgers rookie in one month of the season, and his total of 11 home runs in 32 games made him the fastest Dodgers rookie in history to reach that mark.
A series of multi-home run games in June helped Bellinger set several team and MLB records. On June 13, Bellinger became the fastest player in MLB history to record four multi-home run games, doing so in 45 contests; the previous record was set by Bob Horner with 63 games in 1978. He was also the first Dodger to have consecutive multi-home run games since Adrián Beltré in 2004, and was the third Dodgers rookie to record at least four multi-home run games in one season. In the first inning of an outing against the New York Mets on June 19, his 51st career MLB game, Bellinger tied Gary Sánchez and Wally Berger as the fastest players to reach 20 home runs. In the next inning, he recorded an additional solo shot against Zack Wheeler to become the fastest player to 21 home runs. The following day, a first-inning hit off of Robert Gsellman helped Bellinger to become the first rookie in MLB history to record 10 home runs in a span of 10 games. With his sixth two-home run game of the season on June 25, Bellinger passed Mike Piazza's team rookie record for most multi-home run games in one season, and led the NL with 24 total home runs. He capped off the first half of the season with his first appearances in both the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and in the Home Run Derby. At the latter, Bellinger hit 27 home runs across two rounds, defeating Charlie Blackmon before falling to Aaron Judge of the Yankees in the semifinals. While facing the Miami Marlins on July 15, Bellinger became the first Dodgers rookie in history to hit for the cycle, going 4-for-5 with a home run, three RBIs, and two runs. With his 35th home run of the year on September 2, Bellinger tied Mike Piazza's Dodgers rookie record; he broke Piazza's record the following day with a ninth-inning shot off of Padres closer Brad Hand. On September 22, Bellinger's 39th career home run both helped the Dodgers clinch the NL West title over the San Francisco Giants and broke Wally Berger and Frank Robinson's record for the most National League (NL) home runs made by a rookie. Bellinger finished his rookie MLB season hitting .267 with 39 home runs, 97 RBIs, and 87 runs scored in 480 at bats and 132 games. Bellinger's first MLB postseason began with the 2017 National League Division Series (NLDS) against the Arizona Diamondbacks, where his fifth-inning solo home run in Game 3 made him the youngest Dodger to hit a postseason home run in franchise history. His next postseason home run came against Jake Arrieta of the Chicago Cubs in Game 4 of the 2017 National League Championship Series (NLCS); in doing so, he became the youngest player to homer in a Championship Series game since the 20-year-old Miguel Cabrera did so in Game 7 of the 2003 NLCS. Outside of home runs, however, Bellinger did not generate many hits: with three strikeouts in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, Bellinger set the MLB record with 29 strikeouts in a single postseason run. Despite the Dodgers falling to the Houston Astros in the World Series, Bellinger was the unanimous winner of the NL Rookie of the Year Award.
As he entered the 2018 MLB season, Bellinger was unfazed by the concept of a sophomore slump, in which an athlete's performance falters during their second professional season. He hit the first home run of the season, a two-run shot off of Josh Osich of the Giants to spur the Dodgers to a 9–0 victory and end Bellinger's opening 0-for-11 skid. That home run was also the 40th of Bellinger's career. He accomplished the feat in 136 games, making him the third-fastest MLB player to reach 40 career home runs. Bellinger was unable to sustain his rookie momentum through the start of June, however, when manager Dave Roberts benched him on June 3, there were questions that Bellinger would be optioned back to the minors. Bellinger, meanwhile, used the benching to make a small adjustment to his stance in the batter's box, and he proceeded to record six hits in his next 13 at-bats, including home runs in four consecutive games. He played in all 162 regular-season games that year, batting .260 with 25 home runs and 76 RBIs in 557 at bats. Bellinger helped the Dodgers to capture the NL West title with the go-ahead two-run home run in a tiebreaker game against the Colorado Rockies on October 1. Once the Dodgers reached the 2018 postseason, however, he began to slump, not recording a hit in the four-game NLDS against the Atlanta Braves. Although he did not hit often during the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, the hits that Bellinger did have were impactful: his 10th-inning jumping catch in Game 4 kept the Dodgers alive, while a 13th-inning single in led the Dodgers towards a walk-off win. After hitting the go-ahead home run in Game 7 that clinched the National League pennant for the Dodgers, Bellinger was named the NLCS MVP for the 2018 season. Despite receiving his NLCS honor, Bellinger started only two games in the 2018 World Series, with manager Dave Roberts preferring to platoon almost every position. He successfully reached base only once in the five-game series, on a single, and was later caught stealing. The Dodgers lost the World Series to the Boston Red Sox in five games, and Bellinger was benched in the elimination game, giving the right-handed Enrique Hernández the start against left-handed Boston pitcher David Price.
