During the 2022 Major League Baseball Winter Meetings, the Chicago Cubs added former 2019 National League Most Valuable Player Cody Bellinger on a 1-year deal worth $17.5 million dollars.
Bellinger helped his team reach the Little League World Series back in 2007 and went on to play high school baseball for Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, following his Little League career.
As a young player, Bellinger had committed to play college baseball for the Oregon Ducks before he was drafted and spent two years in the Rookie Leagues before joining the Los Angeles Dodgers “Single A” affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, in 2015. Bellinger was named a mid- and post-season all-star and helped the team to a California League championship title.
A hip injury delayed Bellinger’s rise through the Dodgers’ farm system in 2016, but he was called up to the major leagues in April of 2017 to bolster a struggling outfield.
Setting a number of Dodgers’ single-season home run records, Bellinger participated in both the 2017 MLB All-Star Game and in the Home Run Derby, and 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. A number of injuries to his shoulder, calf and rib cage, however, caused 2021 to be a career-worst year for Bellinger in home runs and batting average.
In addition to his Major League career, Bellinger is also the son of former New York Yankee, Clay Bellinger, who won two World Series titles with the team during his playing career.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
