Cody Bellinger may be the reigning National League MVP, but he hasn’t looked like it to start the 2020 season. Of course, Bellinger has hardly been the only member of the Los Angeles Dodgers lineup to get off to a slow start.
Going into Friday night’s Freeway Series opener against the L.A. Angels, Bellinger was near the bottom of the league in almost all offensive categories, batting just .165/.224/.266 with two home runs.
He was able to break out a bit though, doubling his home run total with a pair in the 7-4 win over the Angels.
After the game, Bellinger readily admitted it “felt really good” to go deep twice. “The first one, just battling up there,” he said. “Saw it high and just tried to put a good swing on it. My next at-bat I was just trying to be consistent and barrel the ball. Good things happen.”
Bellinger missed a hanging slider to strike out in his first at-bat against Angels starter Patrick Sandoval, although he was able to get to the same pitch and knock him out of the game in the sixth inning.
“I haven’t seen the video yet, but it seemed like it was the same pitch. Honestly, I took the same swing, I just hit it,” Bellinger said. “That’s the name of the game. That’s how frustrating this game can be. I took the same mentality, the same swing, and that time it worked.”
Plenty has been made of Bellinger’s swing changes over the offseason being the reason for his slow start, but he believes he is now in a good place mechanically.
“I felt like honestly the last two days have been good. It’s just trusting the process. It’s easier said than done, but not caring about the results and just trying to feel good up there,” Bellinger said.
“It’s really easy to say don’t focus on the results, but when the results aren’t there it’s frustrating. But I have felt really good lately, and that’s positive. Hopefully I can continue to feel that way.”
Bellinger conceded he felt pressure mounting and is confident some of that was taken away with his first two-homer game since July 15, 2019.
“It was frustrating but I couldn’t tell you the size of the monkey; I’d say decent-sized monkey. But I’ve been feeling good, just trusting the process and sticking with it,” Bellinger said. “Working hard with [Robert Van Scoyoc], [Brant Brown] and (Aaron) Bates. Just grinding, trying to fine tune some things. It’s been a grind but it’s been fun.”
Bellinger trying to work through slump with less cage time
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, players are not allowed to be at the field as long as they typically are in a normal season.
Because of that, Bellinger has not been able to get as much time in the batting cages as he would like to work through his slump.
“You definitely have shorter time. It’s a little easier on the road because you have batting practice an hour later,” he explained. “I’ve just been trying to get in as early as I can, get my work in and not take too long for the next guys. I’ve gotten my good share of work in.”
The Dodgers’ offense has been one of the best in baseball this season, ranking first in home runs (36) and runs scored (107). That is without much production from the reigning MVP, so it is clear that this team still has another level to get to if Bellinger can get going.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events and more!
