Two former MVPs struggle in 2021
MILWAUKEE (BVM) – Cody Bellinger and Christian Yelich’s 2019 season has been one of the most memorable NL MVP races in recent years. As their rivalry grew for the hardware, Bellinger and Yelich were featured in multiple media segments that sparked a friendship. However, this 2021 campaign has been coincidentally a disappointing year for both former NL MVPs.
The 2019 season brought the best out of 23-year-old Cody Bellinger and the reigning 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich. At the all-star break, they were one home run apart and a few points shy of each other in OBP and SLG. During the 2019 game, 27-year-old Brewer’s outfielder commented on the mutual respect he had with the gold glove of Bellinger.
“We’ve become buddies over the years so it’s fun. You always want to root for your friends and it’s a good competitive nature where you’re both pulling for each other,” Yelich said.
As the 2019 season winded down, both lefty power hitters had respectable MVP cases. “We both got out of the gates pretty strong in April and it was just like back and forth the entire year,” said Yelich.
Bellinger ended up on top, receiving 45 more ballot points out of the 679 points they shared. Belli earned his first gold glove and had 47 HR 95 BB and 115 RBIs. Yelich ended his season similar to his last with an OBP of .429, a SLG of .671, and a .329 BA. Although Yelich’s averages were greater, Bellinger performed better defensively and the Dodgers outfielder played 26 games more.
However, this season both players hit season slumps. Bellinger brought his bat to the postseason with a BA of .353 and an OBP of .471. However, prior to the playoffs, Bellinger couldn’t find his rhythm and struggled to hit the fastball. The 2019 MVP only managed to attain a BA of .165 with a SLG of .302. In 2021, 17.3% pitches thrown to Bellinger were 95+mph and he struggled with a wOBA of .124 on the heater. The 6-foot-4 two-way star’s struggles root from his discomfort in his right shoulder after undergoing surgery in 2020.
“You’re going to have your struggles every now and then, but you’ve just got to always keep it in perspective and try to have a good time. I just say what comes to my mind and sometimes it’s not the brightest,” Bellinger commented.
Christian Yelich also faced frustrations throughout the year. The Brewers pitching staff were firing on all cylinders but Yelich had an underwhelming slash line of .248/.362/.373 (AVG/OBP/SLG). His strikeout rates have jumped over 10% over the last two seasons. Yelich revealed that in order to get out of the funk, he has to find his swing again.
Yelich noted, “Once you’ve had success, I think you can go one of two ways. You can either have that success and go downhill, or you can use it to build off of it and continue going upward.”
As the offseason begins, Bellinger and Yelich both look to rekindle their craft in their swing and stay healthy. Yelich looks to live up to his 7-year, $188,500,000 contract and Bellinger hopes to prove that he is worth what he was in 2019. Bellinger’s contract concludes after the 2023 season.
