Although Cody Bellinger surprisingly wasn’t at least a finalist for National League Outstanding Player in the 2019 Players Choice Awards, he was selected a 2019 Sporting News National League All-Star in the outfield, as chosen by a panel of league executives.
Also making the team is Philadelphia Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, Atlanta Braves first baseman Freddie Freeman, Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte, Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich, Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr., New York Mets starting pitcher Jacob deGrom and San Diego Padres reliever Kirby Yates.
Voting took place in September and October and was done by 17 NL executives. Other Dodgers players who received votes include Max Muncy at both first and second base, and Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Buehler for starting pitchers.
It comes as no surprise that Bellinger made the cut after having a career-year for the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 156 games, Bellinger hit .305/.406/.629 with 121 runs scored, 34 doubles, 47 home runs, 115 RBI and 15 stolen bases in 20 attempts.
Bellinger also played right field, center field and first base at an extremely high level, setting himself up to perhaps win his first Gold Glove Award.
So far, awards season has not been kind to Bellinger though. He was the Dodgers’ finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, which is given out annually to the best offensive player in each league, which Yelich wound up winning.
Part of the reason that Bellinger’s 2019 season may not be earning the recognition it deserves is because his second half was worse than his first. He still posted a solid .917 on-base plus slugging percentage after the All-Star break, but that is significantly lower his 1.124 first-half OPS.
These are all full-season awards though, and when looking at Bellinger’s complete body of work in the regular season, his statistics are as impressive as anyone’s. At just 24 years of age, Bellinger is already developing into one of the bright young stars in all of baseball and should only continue to get better moving forward.
