Cody Bellinger Named LA Sportsman of the Year
Dodgers’ first baseman Cody Bellinger continues to add to his accolades in 2017. Today Cody Bellinger won the 2017 Sportsman of the Year as selected by the LA Sports Council. He is the second Dodger to win the award, joining Clayton Kershaw who has won it twice. Bellinger will be presented with the award at the 13th annual L.A. Sports Awards on Feb. 6 at the Beverly Hilton.
.@Cody_Bellinger has been named the 2017 Sportsman of the Year by the Los Angeles Sports Council. Congratulations, Cody! pic.twitter.com/FGx393SpSM
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) January 3, 2018
This award adds to a season full of hardware for Bellinger. He’s won the NL Rookie of the Year, been voted the Players Choice NL Outstanding Rookie, was an All-Star and was voted Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year. With all this in mind, he can now add this new award to his resume. Next season, Cody will look to add more hardware to his trophy case.
After putting up an excellent season (.267/.352/.581, 39 HR, 97 RBI’s), he has a lot to look forward to in 2018. Amazingly he will still only be 22-years-old to start the 2018 season. Indeed next season Bellinger will look to take home his first Silver Slugger award and maybe even a Gold Glove or MVP trophy.
Coming into this past season, no one expected Bellinger to contribute meaningfully to the Major League club. Instead Adrian Gonzalez was the primary first baseman, and Bellinger had no clear pathway to getting on the field. Then, with Gonzalez’s injury, Bellinger arrived at the show on April 25th.
Subsequently, he put up a light show that none have seen in the game. He hit homers out at a record pace and eventually cemented himself as the everyday first baseman. Between game-tying homers on nights of absolute madness, to hitting for the cycle, to breaking team and NL rookie records, 2017 was a year to remember for Cody.
Moreover, 2018 looks bright for the young first baseman. And with a full season to look forward to of Belli Bombs, fans are even more excited. Because of this, I am confident we can look forward to more exceptional hardware to end up in Bellinger’s trophy case by years end.
