Throughout the regular season, chants of “M-V-P, M-V-P” rang out across Dodger Stadium every time Cody Bellinger stepped to the plate.
On Thursday, those hopeful chants became a reality.
Bellinger was named the 2019 National League Most Valuable Player by the Baseball Writers Association of America. The 24-year-old outfielder/first baseman received 19 of 30 first-place votes to become the 10th Dodgers player to win MVP.
Brewers outfielder Christian Yelich finished second in voting and Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon finished third.
Bellinger hit .305/.406/.629 with 47 home runs, 115 RBI and 15 stolen bases. He led the National League in total bases (351), finished second in OPS (1.035) and won a Gold Glove for his play in right field. He ranked first in Baseball-Reference’s Wins Above Replacement (9.0).
Bellinger, a 2013 fourth-round pick out of Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) HS, was a two-time Top 100 Prospect and won NL Rookie of the Year in 2017. He is the 18th former NL Rookie of the Year to go on to win an MVP award.
Bellinger is the third straight NL MVP to have been drafted out of high school, following Giancarlo Stanton in 2017 and Yelich in 2018. Seven of the last eight NL MVPs were drafted from the high school ranks.
Full 2019 NL MVP voting results can be found here: https://bbwaa.com/19-nl-mvp/
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