Dodgers: Why Cody Bellinger is NOT the 2019 NL MVP

After Christian Yelich went down for the season last week, many crowned Los Angeles Dodgers star Cody Bellinger as the undisputed 2019 NL MVP. Here’s why he shouldn’t win the award.

Make no mistake, Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Cody Bellinger started off the season with a bang. 47 games into the year, Bellinger established himself as an MVP candidate by slashing an incredible .404 /.487 / .783.

In that time span, he also managed to drill 17 home runs and amass 44 RBI. Quite impressive for a guy who in 162 games in last season slashed just .260 / .343 / .470 with 25 HR and 76 RBI.

This is why after Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich went down with a broken knee cap last week, experts and analysts promptly crowned Bellinger the 2019 NL MVP.

More from Call to the Pen

• Philadelphia Phillies, ready for a stretch run, bomb St. Louis Cardinals
• Philadelphia Phillies: The 4 players on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore
• Boston Red Sox fans should be upset over Mookie Betts’ comment
• Analyzing the Boston Red Sox trade for Dave Henderson and Spike Owen
• 2023 MLB postseason likely to have a strange look without Yankees, Red Sox, Cardinals

Unfortunately for Bellinger, however, it’s what has happened since those first 47 games that should come as a slight on his record. You see, beginning on game 48 up to this point Bellinger has looked more like last year’s version of himself.

In fact, since then he’s slashing .260 / .372 / .561. That’s not bad for a slugger on a World Series bound team. He’s also hit 28 home runs and 66 RBI in that time span.

However, there’s another player vying for the award whose demeanor may not draw too much attention but his level of play certainly has. I’m talking about none other than Washington Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon.

You see, in Rendon’s first 47 games he slashed .329 / .436 / .659 with 11 HR and 40 RBI. Since then, his slash line has remained rather consistent: .327 / .399 / .597 with 24 HR and 79 RBI.

What’s more, while the Los Angeles Dodgers’ win-loss percentage hasn’t really budged from between their first 47 games (.640) and since then (.644), Rendon’s team has only gotten better; .459 versus .615.

In addition to all of this, we can look as fWAR to make a determination of who’s better and overall, Bellinger (7.5 fWAR) would win the award over Rendon (7.0 fWAR). However, break the stat down between the first 47 games and since then and again you get an entirely different story.

• Cody Bellinger – 3.8 fWAR in first 47 games | 3.7 fWAR in remaining 102 games
• Anthony Rendon – 2.8 fWAR in first 47 games | 4.2 fWAR in remaining 91 games

So, while still acknowledging that Bellinger is having one of baseball’s greatest seasons cumulatively, it’s undeniable that during a longer stretch Rendon, the 2019 NL MVP, has been better.