Cody Bellinger’s return to The Bronx will turn back the clock.
In 2000 and 2001, he was one of those kids running around the field after World Series games, when his father’s Yankees were beating the Mets and losing to the Diamondbacks in the World Series.
Clay Bellinger was a utilityman with a five- or six-year-old son who was growing up in a house upstate, with Cody also playing in the children’s room for players’ families at the old Stadium.
Can Cody’s return to The Bronx turn back the clock to 2019, too, when he was National League MVP and demolishing baseballs with the Dodgers?
It is a lot to ask for from a player who sunk to become one of the worst hitters in baseball in 2021-22 and bounced back to a solid, if unspectacular batter the past two seasons.
But Bellinger believes he still can be the type of slugger he once was.
Back in 2019, he crushed 47 home runs and posted a 1.035 OPS.
“I do think that it is in the tank,” Bellinger said over Zoom on Thursday, two days after he was traded from the Cubs to the Yankees. “With that, you never know the future. And I try not to set future numbers. I just want to go out and play the best baseball I can play — defense, running the bases and just helping the team win.”
The Yankees would gladly accept the 2023-24 version of Bellinger, but there is at least evidence that there is more to be generated from his bat and plenty to be generated from his glove.
Bellinger has told manager Aaron Boone that he is willing to play anywhere, and his defensive skill set is among the most distinct in baseball.
He could be the club’s everyday center fielder, still an above-average glove who pushes Aaron Judge to right. He could be the everyday left fielder if Jasson Dominguez claims center. He could be the everyday first baseman if the Yankees do not upgrade at the spot.
Bellinger gives the club flexibility in how it proceeds for the rest of the offseason.
He also provides an upside that few on the market possess — particularly in his new home ballpark.
The past two seasons playing home games at Wrigley Field, Bellinger elevated his value from poor 2021-22 seasons that followed shoulder surgery. He acknowledged there were both mental and physical aspects to the dramatic fall for a one-time MVP, but he was healthy in Chicago and re-emerged as a different hitter.
He hit 26 and 18 home runs, respectively, the past two seasons, while making much more contact and seeing his strikeout rate plummet.
Last season his numbers dipped a bit, hitting .266 with a .751 OPS, perhaps because of the hitting environment at pitcher-friendly Wrigley Field. He owned a .797 OPS on the road and .700 OPS at home.
Now, the lefty slugger with a tendency to pull pitches will play 81 games with a short porch in right field (and another six at the Rays’ Steinbrenner Field, which has identical dimensions).
“You don’t want the elements of the field to dictate how you feel, whether it’s a cold day or hot day, winds blowing in or winds blowing out. You kind of want to stay within yourself, stick with your plan,” said the 29-year-old, who was acquired for Cody Poteet in what amounted to a salary dump. “That’s for me, just how I stay even-keeled.
“But on the other side, it definitely excites me.”
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