The Los Angeles Dodgers didn’t end their season the way they wanted to but there were still a lot of great moments and memories that should be appreciated. Chief among them being Cody Bellinger bouncing back in the playoffs.
After struggling throughout the entire year, Bellinger became arguably the Dodgers’ best and most consistent player in the postseason. He struggled to remain healthy during the regular season and hit just .165/.240/.302 with 10 home runs, a 48 wRC+ and -0.8 WAR in 95 games.
In the postseason, however, Bellinger was finally able to hit his stride and led the Dodgers by batting .353/.436/.471 in 12 games.
As part of a larger message shared to Instagram, Justin Turner said Bellinger turned in one of the best turnarounds he’s ever seen:
“I got to share a uniform with 4 future Hall of Famers, see Julio win 20 games, get tons of hugs from Tio Albert, watch Kenley Jansen punch his 1,000th ticket, play behind Max Scherzer 3,000 K, watch Trea Turner win a batting title, see Cody Bellinger have one of the greatest season to playoff turnarounds ever, witness Chris Taylor have a 3 homer playoff game and walkoff in the wild card, and every night watch one of best bullpens I’ve ever seen. So while it always hurts falling short of a championship, the memories and guys in our clubhouse made it a year I’ll never forget!”
Bellinger attributed some of his postseason contributions to improved health. “I’m feeling good,” he said prior to Game 2 of the National League Division Series. “I’ve been feeling good, not frustrated. I feel 100%. I don’t know how my body is, but I feel really good.”
Bellinger ended up driving in the go-ahead run in Game 5 of the NLDS. In Game 3 of the NL Championship Series, Bellinger hit a three-run home run to pull the Dodgers even in the eighth inning.
“I mean, in a way it’s a whole different season,” Bellinger recently said of the playoffs. “Luckily for me I got a clean slate going into the postseason and I was feeling good towards the end of the regular season.
“I just tried to continue that and continue that feel into the postseason and help this team win.”
Bellinger optimistic for 2022
As he was in the process of putting a horrendous regular season behind him, Bellinger said being healthy this winter would be key moving forward.
“I was rehabbing all offseason last year and then everything happened this year,” he said. “But a full offseason, I’ll for sure be ready to go.”
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