Dodgers: Cody Bellinger’s 20th Home Run a Historic Feat
It’s no secret that Cody Bellinger has been off to a hot start.
At this point point in the season, it’d be tough to find another player in the MLB that can match Bellinger’s dominance on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
The Dodgers’ right fielder is currently batting a National League best .384 with 51 RBI and a 1.239 OPS.
Last night Bellinger hit another significant milestone in his 2019 campaign with his 20th home run of the season. That home run placed him as the second fastest Dodger to reach 20 home runs by team games, only trailing Gil Hodges who hit 20 home runs in 53 team games in 1951.
Fastest Dodgers to 20 HR, by team games:
Gil Hodges (1951) 53 games
CODY BELLINGER (2019) 55
Duke Snider (1955) 57
Gary Sheffield (2000) 66
Eric Karros (2000) 67
Shawn Green (2002) 67
Matt Kemp (2011) 67
Gil Hodges (1954) 68— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) May 29, 2019
Moreover, Cody’s 20th home run this season also placed him in team history for another reason.
Cody Bellinger is the first Dodger with three 20-homer seasons before his age-24 season
— Eric Stephen (@ericstephen) May 29, 2019
Such a feat speaks towards the impressiveness of his relative youth and dominance with the Dodgers.
While Bellinger was certainly an important piece in the Dodgers’ World Series runs the past two seasons, his performance so far this year has been anything but expected. At this point, he’s the odds-on favorite to win his first NL MVP at the end of the season.
Hat tip to Eric Stephen over at True Blue LA for the notes.