Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger has been named the National League Player of the Week for the period ending May 7th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.
Bellinger hit .429 (9-for-21) with eight runs scored, a double, one triple, three home runs, 12 RBI and a stolen base over five games to claim his first career Player of the Week Award, and the first for a Dodgers position player since teammate Adrián González was awarded NL weekly honors on April 13, 2015. Among his NL counterparts, Cody finished the period first in RBI; tied for first in slugging percentage (1.000); tied for second in home runs; tied for third in batting average and runs scored; fourth in total bases (21); and tied for fifth in extra-base hits (5).
On Saturday night against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, the 21-year-old rookie went 2-for-4 with a home run, stolen base and career-high five RBI. With his first career grand slam in the ninth inning of the Dodgers' 10-2 win over the Padres, Bellinger became the first Dodger in the modern era (since 1900) to hit five round-trippers in his first 11 Major League games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Additionally, the Scottsdale, Arizona native became just the second player to debut since 1920 (when RBI became an official statistic) to record at least five home runs and 14 RBI in his first 11 games since Mark Quinn belted five homers and 16 RBI for the Kansas City Royals in 1999. Following his multi-homer output the night before, as part of a three-hit game, Bellinger became the first player in club history since 1913, to log two multi-homer games in his first 10 career games (also April 29th vs. Philadelphia). During his torrid two-game stretch, LA's fourth round selection in the 2013 MLB Draft tallied three homers, nine RBI and four runs scored. Across his award-winning week, Bellinger logged four multi-hit games and struck out just three times in 22 plate appearances. Entering play today, the Dodgers own a 17-14 record (.548) and sit 2.5 games behind the Colorado Rockies for first place in the NL West.
Billy Hamilton (.355, 11 R, 6 XBH, 8 RBI, 9 SB) was also excellent this past week for the Cincinnati Reds. On Thursday, the speedster recorded his 200th career stolen base in his 424th career game, the fourth-fewest number of games to reach 200 steals by any Major League player since 1900. Only Vince Coleman (280) and Hall of Famers Tim Raines (361) and Rickey Henderson (366) reached the milestone in fewer games. Following an explosive two-game stretch on Friday and Saturday, in which he went 5-for-10 with three extra-base hits and four RBI, Hamilton became only the third Reds batter since 1900 to record three stolen bases and six runs scored over two games, joining Hall of Famer Joe Morgan (1976) and Miller Huggins (1905). In Sunday's win over the San Francisco Giants, Hamilton tripled in his third straight game, becoming the first Reds player to triple in three consecutive contests since Deion Sanders in 1997. Other noteworthy performances included outfielder Aaron Altherr (.429, 6 R, 5 XBH, 8 RBI) of the Philadelphia Phillies; first baseman Ryan Zimmerman (.500, 6 R, 4 2B, 1.000 SLG) of the Washington Nationals; first baseman Matt Carpenter (.333, 8 R, 4 HR, 6 RBI) of the St. Louis Cardinals; second baseman Javier Baez (.379, 7 R, 3 HR, 7 RBI) of the Chicago Cubs; and Mark Reynolds (.444, 5 R, 3 HR, 4 RBI) of the Colorado Rockies.
In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Cody Bellinger will be awarded a watch courtesy of Rockwell.