There were a few notable differences with Cody Bellinger when the Los Angeles Dodgers began playing intrasquad games during Summer Camp. One was the protective flap added to Bellinger’s helmet. Another was his grown-out hair, which Bellinger attributed to not getting it cut during quarantine.
But easily the most disconcerting change with the reigning National League MVP was his new batting stance. “Over quarantine he was in Arizona working and thinking through some things,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts began.
“There is certainly a swing change that if you put eyes on you can see it’s different than it was last year. I think for Cody, for us, it’s just more of getting live at-bats. You can work in a cage and batting practice, but syncing up the new mechanics takes time. I still know he’s in lock-step with the hitting guys, so we’ll how it goes. I’m confident he’s going to work through it and he’ll be fine.”
Bellinger earned the aforementioned MVP last season and also won a Silver Slugger Award. Coming off the best year of his young career and still making significant changes could strike some as curious. Particularly since Bellinger had his usual stance during Cactus League play this year.
“In talking to Cody, he won the MVP but for him, his words, he didn’t have a good second half,” Roberts explained. “As he finished the season he didn’t feel comfortable and felt that he was open to a change, came up with the change and feels really comfortable with where he’s at mechanically.
“We haven’t seen the results yet — not that results matter right now — but I think it’s a feel thing. For me, as long as he has confidence in it and is conferring and talking through things with the hitting guys, I’m optimistic.”
To the point Roberts said Bellinger raised, he batted .263/.371/.546 with 15 doubles, 17 home runs and 44 RBI in 68 games (66 starts) after the All-Star break. Bellinger got off to a historic start in 2019, and saw steady decline in nearly every statistical category until September.
“I think with a lot of guys, it’s a feel thing. In talking to Cody, from the second half throughout the winter and Spring Training, he never felt really comfortable with his swing. That’s what kind of was the impetus to the swing change,” Roberts added.
“Obviously, the player, his mindset and psyche matters most. Optically, certainly it’s different. I just know that he said he didn’t feel comfortable and wanted some kind of change.”
Bellinger downplays adjustments
Prior to Roberts providing some specifics behind the change, Bellinger downplayed his new look in the batter’s box. “I’m not making any type of big adjustments,” he said. “There’s always small things in your swing that you realize what makes you good and you just try to be as consistent with those as you can.
“I decided with my extra time to work on it in a stress-free environment. So nothing major at all, it’s just like the minor things that I think about throughout the year, just fine-tuning those things.”
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