Cody Bellinger, 22, has had a remarkable rookie season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES» Although Cody Bellinger is making his playoff debut Friday night for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the 22-yearold rookie is already a veteran of ticker-tape parades.
Bellinger’s father, Clay, played only four major-league seasons, but three ended in the postseason with the New York Yankees — and two concluded with World Series championships. In some of Cody’s earliest memories, he is a wide-eyed kid sitting in a car alongside his parents while cascades of paper and cheers pour down into Manhattan’s metal canyons.
“I definitely remember the World Series parades,” Bellinger said Wednesday inside the Dodgers’ clubhouse. “I remember being there. I remember (the games) more because of the videos.”
Bellinger’s rookie season in Los Angeles has already been indelible, and he heads into an NL division series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday shouldering none of his teammates’ baggage from these 104win Dodgers’ recent playoff failures. With Bellinger’s 39 homers and left-handed bat in the heart of their lineup, the Dodgers have a different, more dangerous look than the previous incarnations of the team that has fallen short of the World Series in four consecutive postseasons.
“He’s just been impressive be- cause he’s just kept going,” Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt said. “He hasn’t slowed down. A guy gets called up, and he gets on fire and you’re kind of like, ‘All right, we’ll see how long this lasts.’ He just hasn’t stopped. He’s the real deal.”
To earn his own parade memories down Sunset Boulevard or Figueroa Street, Bellinger must extend the extraordinary season that has left him all but certain to be the Dodgers’ second straight NL rookie of the year.
“I’ve dreamed about it for a long time,” Bellinger said. “It’s weird. I’ve always seen commercials for the postseason, but now I’m actually in it. I’m going to do what I can to help us win, (but) we’re going to stay the same. Everybody is doing the same thing they did for 162 games. There’s just going to be a little more excitement and adrenaline in the air.”
While Bellinger’s ordinary build belies his extraordinary power, the first baseman and outfielder will be no surprise to the Diamondbacks or any other playoff opponent. He set an NL rookie record and finished second in the league behind only Giancarlo Stanton in homers, connecting every 12.3 at-bats, while ending up sixth in slugging percentage (.581) and eighth in extra-base hits (69).
“He just stayed the same guy he was in spring training, when we were all over him, telling him to go do stuff for us,” said Andre Ethier, whose locker is next to Bellinger’s stall at Dodger Stadium. “You never really saw him get too excited, or ride the success too high.”