Major League Baseball announced the 2019 Silver Slugger Award Winners, and Los Angeles Dodgers All-Star Cody Bellinger was among the National League recipients for the outfield.
Prior to Bellinger the Dodgers’ last Silver Slugger was Corey Seager in 2017; he additionally earned the honor in 2016. Bellinger immediately showed the baseball world what he is capable of in 2017 when he hit an NL rookie record 39 home runs.
But he went through a bit of a sophomore slump last year, leading to some questioning which player he is going to be throughout his career.
The 24-year-old quickly put an end that by getting off to a historic start in 2019, hitting .404/.487/.783 with 10 doubles, 17 home runs, 44 RBI and 43 runs scored in 47 games to begin the season.
Although Bellinger was not able to maintain that torrid pace all season, he still finished hitting an impressive .305/.406/.629 with 34 doubles, 47 home runs, 121 runs scored and 115 RBI in 156 total games.
Bellinger’s 27 home runs at Dodger Stadium set a franchise record for most hit at home in a single season. He broke the record held by Gil Hodges (1954) and Duke Snider (1956), who both hit 25 apiece while the team was playing at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.
This season also saw Bellinger break Willie Mays’ record for the youngest NL player to reach the 45-home run mark in a single season.
While the Silver Slugger Award only accounts what a player does offensively, Bellinger was also outstanding defensively and was recently recognized for that with his first career Gold Glove Award in right field. He additionally is an NL MVP finalist along with Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich and Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon.
Bellinger joined Dusty Baker (1981), Russell Martin (2007), Matt Kemp (2009, 2011) and Adrian Gonzalez (2014) as Dodgers to win a Gold Glove and Silver Slugger in the same season.
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