» Dodgers rookie star, local product Cody Bellinger aims to take it slow.
Local LA rookie star aims to take it slow
The pregame question was legit but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts could’ve answered it many ways. Basically, it boiled down to this: What’s wrong with Cody Bellinger? The Dodgers sensation just wrapped one of the most impressive rookie seasons in major league history, smacking 39 home runs, third-most all-time, trailing only Aaron Judge (52) and Mark McGwire (49). He finished second in the National League in home runs and made the All-Star Game, the first Dodgers position player to make the squad in his first season.
Basically, Bellinger – who starred at Chandler Hamilton High, just 25 miles from Chase Field – did everything this season but hit for the cycle.
Wait.
He did that, too, the ninth in Dodgers history and the first rookie to do so.
All this, and yet Bellinger hasn’t looked like himself lately. Entering Monday’s National League Division Series Game 3 against the Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles first baseman was 1 for 10 with six strikeouts in the series. Bellinger finished the regular season just as cold, going 2 for 19 with 10 strikeouts over his final six games.
Cause for concern?
“I think with Cody,” Roberts said, “there is a combo of mechanics. There is a combo of trying to do a little bit too much and to what they’re doing to him – they’re not throwing him strikes.”
There’s also the obvious. Bellinger, 22, is playing in his first postseason. This is often a bumpy transition, regardless of regular-season success.
“I’ve said it over and over – postseason is a different animal,” said Dodgers analyst Rick Monday, who played in 30 postseason games over his 19-year career. “It bites faster. It bites harder. It bites more consistently. And you don’t know where the bite is going to come from.”
Monday’s advice to those experiencing it for the first time: Breathe.
Just take a moment and breathe.
“There’s a tendency that you want to reach over and hit the ‘fast forward’ button,” Monday said. “You can’t. You have to attempt – it won’t work – but you have to attempt to hit the ‘slow-motion’ button. Bring the game back to you instead of you speeding up and trying to catch the game. And for those who have never experienced it before, it’s a little strange.”
If Bellinger feels pressure, he hides it well. Before Monday’s game, he appeared loose. He wore sun glasses atop the bill of his cap, even though the Chase Field roof at the time was closed. While teammates stretched and the Diamondbacks finished batting practice, Bellinger mostly took in the surroundings.
Later, before batting practice, the 6-4, 210-pounder wiped dirt on the handle of his 33.5-inch, 31.5-ounce bat and talked with teammate Yaisel Puig. He then took his cuts, spraying the ball to right field, reaching the seats with ease.
This part – the approach – doesn’t surprise Monday. Maybe Bellinger inherited it from his father, Clay, who played four major-league seasons, winning two World Series with the Yankees. Or maybe Bellinger simply has molded it over the course of his baseball life, beginning with the 2007 Little League World Series.
“There’s been a lot of challenges,” Monday said. “First you come up because there’s an injury. Then you’re put in the lineup and you start to do very well. Then you take over the first-base position. Then you take over the cleanup spot in the lineup, and you’re really kind of the focal point of what’s happening with this ball club from an offensive standpoint . ... How he’s (handled) it has been absolutely remarkable.”
In Game 3, Roberts expected Arizona starter Zack Greinke to “nibble” against Bellinger, a game of cat and mouse to see what the rookie would chase. After grounding out and flying out in his first two at-bats, Bellinger faced Greinke in the fifth.
He patiently laid off a change-up, fastball and change-up before taking a strike. With the count at 3-1, Greinke then threw an 87-mph off speed pitch that Bellinger timed perfectly, smashing it over the left-field wall for hist first postseason home run.
The game was starting to slow.