After weeks of being criticized for ‘messing with his swing,’ whether perceived or otherwise, Dodgers outfielder / first baseman Cody Bellinger, who has homered in five of his last 10 games, including a two-run shot in Saturday’s 7-4 pounding of the Texas Rangers at new Globe Life Park in Arlington, TX, says that his swing is in a really good place right now.
“Yeah it is, I’ve been feeling good,” said the defending 2019 National League MVP. “I missed in my first at-bat and got it [a 95.5 mph four-seam fastball from Rangers right-hander Lance Lynn] again second at-bat, and I just tried to put the same swing on it, and that time I just connected.”
Connect he did.
Bellinger’s blast traveled an estimated 402 feet into the right field seats with an estimated exit velocity of 107.2 mph.
“We just stayed aggressive with him, and it didn’t work out the first few innings, but we stuck with our plan,” Bellinger added.
The plan worked.
“He’s a tough one, versus rights especially,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said of Lynn after the game. “AJ [Pollock] got us on the board, which was big, on a two-seamer in. But that fastball, those characteristics are tough.
“Cody took a great swing on one, which was great to see; and then we did some manufacturing,” Roberts added. “[Max] Muncy just missed one, a three-run homer earlier as well. I just thought, collectively, we had a good game plan and just really impressed today with Cody. I thought he controlled the strike zone really well.”
Perceived or otherwise, welcome back, Belli’s swing!
Play Ball!
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Belli’s another one I wouldn’t want to play without.
It is amazing to me how good Bellinger can look on one swing, and how incredibly awful he can look on another in the same game. He appears to be a guess hitter, both for pitch type and location. When he guesses right – BOOM! But when he guesses wrong he either swings like someone just learning to hit with hands crossed on the bat, or he takes a batting practice fastball down the middle of the strike zone. He is only 25-years old (last July); when he matures as a hitter there will be no one better; he could very well become the next Ted Williams with better running speed and defense.
That is who I have compared Belli to from the instant I saw his first swing at Rancho Cucamonga in 2015, and I’m sticking to it.
Same here. And, I wrote then that Bellinger should use Ted Williams book the The Science of Hitting as his baseball bible.
SoCalBum, I do remember you writing about Bellinger should read William’s book The Science of Hitting, maybe Betts can remind him.