Earning a cup of coffee with the Los Angeles Dodgers in September, Gavin Lux gained valuable experience on top of carving out a role for himself at second base.
He appeared in 23 games down the stretch before earning a spot on the Dodgers’ National League Division Series roster. Lux most notably made his mark by becoming the first player in franchise history to hit a pinch-hit home run in his first postseason at-bat.
The 21-year-old is now focused on becoming the Dodgers’ starting second baseman next season. Among his biggest takeaways from his brief time in the Majors was the impact Cody Bellinger made on both sides of the ball en route to 2019 NL MVP honors.
During an appearance on MLB Network Radio, Lux noted how fun it was to share the field with Bellinger during the 2019 season:
“It was so much fun, man. Both sides of the ball: he’ll save a run by hosing a guy at third or making a diving play, next inning comes around and he hits a 450-foot home run. He can do everything on the baseball field and he’s a great dude, a great teammate. I was so happy that he won. He definitely deserved it.”
As Lux notes, Bellinger was one of the few players this past season who could routinely impact a game on any given night, both offensively and defensively. A prime example of this is when Bellinger threw out Brandon Crawford at third base and later set an MLB record for most RBI before the month of May against the San Francisco Giants.
In addition to being named MVP, Bellinger has taken home additional hardware this offseason, including his first career Silver Slugger Award. He hit an impressive .305/.406/.629 with 121 runs scored, 34 doubles, 47 home runs, 115 RBI and 15 stolen bases during the 2019 season.
Bellinger was additionally recognized for his defensive efforts, earning a Gold Glove Award over the likes of Jason Heyward and Bryce Harper. He appeared at three different positions for the Dodgers this season, earning the majority of his playing time right field.
He led all qualified players at the position with 19 Defensive Runs Saved and a 4.8 Defensive Rating. Bellinger also became the first player in MLB history to win two in a single season; one took into consideration his elite play in right field and the other highlighted his “multi-positional excellence.”
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