April 27th, 2019 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka Like many youngsters, my love and passion for the game of baseball came from my father, who had tremendous patience when he would schlep my brothers and me in our (then) new 1957 Plymouth station wagon to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to watch his beloved Chicago Cubs play the newly-arrived Los Angeles Dodgers. It didn’t take long for me, even at only four years old, to become a Dodger fan for life (sorry, dad).
Over the (many) years since, I have been blessed – absolutely blessed – to have personally witnessed nearly every LA Dodger great play the gave; first at said LA Coliseum and then – and still – at Dodger Stadium. You name them, I saw them play: Koufax, Drysdale, Reese, Newcombe, Wills, Podres, Furillo; and the newer guys: Lopes, Russell, Garvey, Cey; and the real new guys: Kershaw, Ethier, Kemp, Martin (both times). And then there’s current Dodgers: Seager, Pederson, Verdugo, Buehler, Urias, Stripling.
…and Cody Bellinger.
Oh sure, I could have included the 23-year-old Scottsdale, Arizona native and Dodgers 2013 fourth-round draft pick out of Hamilton High School in nearby Chandler, Arizona among that latter group, but quite frankly, that would be like comparing that aforementioned 1957 Plymouth station wagon to a brand new Mercedes Benz “like the one Vin drives,” as the commercial says.
This most certainly isn’t a knock on any of the current Dodgers players. It’s just that Cody Bellinger, all 6′-4″ / 203 pounds of him, is in a class of his own; and a historic one at that.
(Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
Among the (many) things that my father told and taught me about the game was that after Hall of Famer Ted Williams retired following the 1960 season, there would never again be another .400 hitter … and he was right. What makes my dad’s proclamation even more incredible is that the “Splendid Splinter” (as Williams was called) did so three times in his brilliant 19-year MLB career, all with the Boston Red Sox and excluding the three years that he did not play due to his military service during World War II.
Although I was seven years old when Williams retired from the game and never had the pleasure (or honor) to have personally watched him play, I watched countless newsreels (ask your parents what those are) of Williams’ classic – and beautiful – one-of-a-kind swing.
Make that two-of-a-kind.
When a then 19-year-old Cody Bellinger arrived in Rancho Cucamonga to begin the 2015 season with the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Quakes, I had the pleasure of watching him play (and was blessed to get to know him personally). I’ll say it now (and will swear to it), I knew within a half dozen games that this young man, the son of former major leaguer Clay and Jennifer Bellinger (an absolutely wonderful lady) was destined for greatness.
How so, you ask?
Because the first time I saw the young left-hander swing the bat, my first – very first – thought was: ‘Man, his swing looks just like Ted Williams’ swing!’ I even went so far as to tell this to several other writers covering the team at the time. And even though my very first article on Bellinger was on June 16, 2015 when he and former Quake Brandon Trinkwon were named to the 2015 California League All-Star team (a clue), I posted an article specifically about Bellinger’s swing on May 9, 2017 titled (wait for it…) ‘Cody Bellinger’s Swing‘.
Although it may sound a bit smug, I wasn’t the least bit surprised when Bellinger was named the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year. After all, I had spent many hours watching him play, albeit at the Advanced Single-A level and during the Arizona Fall League. And even though I do not and have never proclaimed myself to be a scout, I didn’t need to be one to see that this young man from Scottsdale, Arizona was going to be a good one; although I must admit that I never realized that he would be this good.
I’ll let these numbers (and Tweets) speak for themselves:
That would be 42 hits, a .433 batting average (Hmmm…), a 1,426 OPS, a .509 OBP, a .918 SLG, 33 RBI, 89 Total Bases, and 13 HR in the 27 (of 28) games in which Bellinger has appeared in this season. What the Dodgers Twitter account person inadvertently left off this list is that Belly also leads MLB in Runs with 29.
But don’t just take my word for it. Here’s what popular Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis and his color annalist and Dodger great Orel Hershiser had to say about Bellinger:
It’s no wonder that during a televised Dodgers game on June 20, 2017, that same Joe Davis said:
“Cody Bellinger, you are ridiculous!”
Ted Williams-like ridiculous.
Play Ball!
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Posted in 
When I first saw Bellinger play he physically reminded me of Williams and I thought he would benefit from going back to the basics Williams discussed in his book “The Science of Hitting.” Although the odds of any player hitting .400 for a season are incredibly small with deep bull pens, defensive shifts, home run swings, better athletes on defense, etc. but Bellinger’s speed gives him a better chance than most to accomplish the feat.
Wow, Where do you start? Bellinger has gotten off to probably the best start this season than any Dodger that I can remember. It’s hard to predict how his season will wind up, but I think, he’s proving that he is one of the best position players to come up to the Dodgers in a long time. I have to say I’m very excited waiting for him to step up to the plate.
Best I can recall. Brings back memories of Tommy Davis incredible season in early 60’s and Mike Piazza in mid- 90’s, but Bellinger is currently in a league of his own,
I didn’t notice the Ted Williams style swing as I am a bit younger then Ron and even know I have seen film of him, I’ve never studied them to great detail. What I did notice was Cody swung really hard and could also slow his bat down and adjust up and down well. He was athletic and not rigid so to speak. He can get to pitches on the outside corner and down and put good wood on them and when doing so made it look almost as if it was a simple task.
I did go watch Ted Williams on YouTube just now and I see the similarities such as you all say.
Good Work, Ron.
You might enjoy watching the videos on YouTube of Bob Costas interviewing Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn about hitting. Costas doesn’t do much talking, just gets Ted and Tony going and they take over. I have watched a couple of times, just a great video of two great hitters who respected each other talking hitting — it is great and well worth the time. Just search for Costas, Williams, and Gwynn talking hitting
Duly noted and bookmarked…Thanks.
P.S. I think Ted Williams record will be broken someday. I don’t think Cal Ripkens will though.
I heard on the news channel that we only have 12 seasons left…there simply isn’t enough time to break Ripkins record.
Kid wants a max deal and the Dodgers should just give it to him, lol! I knew he was gonna be good the moment he finally tapped into his raw power at High-A Rancho several years back, but I had NO idea he was this gifted a ballplayer! It’s like the Dodgers have their own Mike Trout-level player to show off right now and it’s been an absolute joy to watch. To scouting director Logan White, who’s no longer with the Dodger organization: THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF OUR HEARTS FOR DRAFTING CODY BELLINGER!!!
😉
SoCalBum I remember when you and I would defend Bellinger against others on a another blog who were saying how over rated he was when he was at Tulsa. Letś not forget Verdugo who I think is nothing but a hitting machine and in my opinion should be playing every day in RF.
I remember! Spot on about Verdugo. There will come a day in near future when Verdugo will be a regular, just a matter of time and position, but right field seems the likely spot. Always good to see your comments, I miss our early morning chats. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Hello SoCal and hope all is well with you and yours. Not much to ad about Bellinger, as I am a bit in awe of what he is doing myself, especially against LHP. As far as I am concerned, Bellinger needs to remain in the cleanup spot against ALL COMERS, RHP or LHP. He IMHO has the most power on this team since Piazza.
Very impressive young player. I would like to see him hit no. 3, in front of Turner.