Ex-MVP’s shoulders won’t move frustrated
2019 was the year of Cody Bellinger (26, LA Dodgers). Belinger, who won the 2017 National League Rookie of the Year award, surprised people by becoming the MVP for the first time in two years.
Bellinger rose to the throne in 156 games in 2019, with a batting average of 0.305, 47 home runs, 115 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base plus slugging average) of 1.035. She was 24 years old at the time. Everyone pointed to Bellinger as the player to break Mike Trout’s long-term rule.
He had the ability to steal double-digit bases as well as a cheerful swing, and he also followed the defense. Even a popular team called the Los Angeles Dodgers was behind the scenes. But two years later, the prospect of surpassing Trout’s stronghold has crumbled horribly.
He was only a 0.789 OPS player in 56 games last year. It was a time when the performance fluctuations were large in the aftermath of the shortened season due to coronavirus 19. But this year is too disastrous. Belinger, who suffered major and minor injuries due to poor performance, has been batting 0.183, nine home runs, 29 RBIs and 0.630.
OPS 0.630 is undoubtedly below the league average attack productivity (OPS+71) and his contribution to victory over his substitute (WAR) is shocking -0.3 (baseball reference basis). However, his annual salary this year amounts to $16.1 million. In other words, the Dodgers are using players far below the league average. His performance rebounded in August, but he is not as good as before.
Bellinger bowed his head, saying, “There is no excuse.” “This is just reality,” Bellinger said in an interview with the U.S. sports media The Athletic on the 16th. My shoulders aren’t moving as they used to be,” he said. “I thought I was the same man, but I wasn’t. “My shoulder was stiff and my leg was broken.
Bellinger performed an arm ceremony celebrating a home run with his teammate during the seventh game of the 2020 World Series, and underwent surgery after dislocation of his shoulder. The momentary excitement led to injury, which was the decisive cause of Bellinger’s slump this year. Bellinger had previously had shoulder problems and did not deny that the ceremony had worsened the situation 파워볼사이트
In 11 games in August, he is slowly recovering by hitting four home runs, but his batting average in August is 0.268 and his on-base percentage is 0.318. But Bellinger is confident of a rebound. Bellinger said in an interview that if he had played 162 games last year, his performance would have changed.
Bellinger said, “If it hadn’t happened (a series of injuries), I don’t think I’d have ruined the year. It doesn’t affect me,” he said. “All I can do is move forward. I still have composure in my mind,” he said. It is his own expectation that he will be able to show better performance next year if he calmly carries out his shoulder recovery program during the offseason.
