Editorials

Cody Bellinger Bombs: Chronicling Home Run 60

Dodgers Nation will be writing about ‘Bellinger Bombs’. The Dodgers have one of the best young power hitters in the game under contract for the foreseeable future. Writers like Sam Miller have asked the question ‘What if Cody Bellinger is going to break the all-time home run record’. As the career home runs continue to pile up, we will examine each one in greater detail. We will allow you; the fan, to savor each one as they should be. Because what’s more fun than a home run? (You can look back at the collection here). 

After a long week, settling in to write about Cody Bellinger hitting a long home run is just what the doctor ordered. Let’s be honest here: is there anything more satisfying within a game then when this guy gets into one with a perfect swing? The question was rhetorical only: there is not.



Bellinger has been in the midst of a tremendous month of August. Still, he’s going to fall short of the 39 home runs he hit in his rookie season. That said, I feel like Bellinger has one more tremendous power surge left in him; and it’s just waiting to come out.

In this post we take a look at his 21st of the 2018 season, and 60th of his career. It was a beauty of a swing.

The Home Run

The running totals continue to pile up. Bellinger’s 32nd home run in a road park was his 18th off a southpaw pitcher. The blast was his first at Globelife Park in Arlington – and his first when hitting eighth in the lineup. It was the eighth round tripper he’s hit to dead center, and his 45th as a first baseman.

With 60 career home runs, he’s moved into sole possession of 54th place on the franchise all-time list. Next up he targets well-known Wally Moon and Wes Parker who hit 64 career home runs as Dodgers.

How Bellinger’s Home Run Impacted The Game

Good old Mike Minor was making people a bit nervous in the top of the third inning when he had retired the first seven hitters of the ballgame. The Dodgers held a 47 percent win expectancy before the pitch left his hand – and when it landed on the decorative lawn in center field – that moved to 58 percent.

Of course, the Dodgers would win this game 3-1 in Arlington. Bellinger’s home run was very key in getting them on the board.

The Victim

Mike Minor has enjoyed a long and somewhat decorated career. A first-round draft pick by the Atlanta Braves in the 2009 draft, he made his debut in 2010 at the big league level. He has had effective seasons, but always been somewhat prone to the long ball. This was his 22nd home run allowed in 25 starts this season for the Rangers. In his career, he holds a 54-49 record with a 4.77 ERA. Bellinger crowned him in his 200th career appearance, how nice.

Exit Velocity, Distance, Pitch Data, and Angle

Believe it or not, Mike Minor can still get it up there at almost mid-90’s on the radar gun. This was a 94 mile per hour four-seam fastball and it was up in the zone. Still, Bellinger was able to put one of his finest swings of the year on it, and it left the park in a hurry to the tune of 103 mile per hour exit velocity. The ball had a launch-angle of 29 degrees at it’s highest point. The final measure on the ball was 412 feet.

Overall Bellinger-Bomb Prominence Score

Bellinger reached a nice milestone total of 60 home runs; albeit later than most thought he might this season. Still, the ball was a prototypical Bellinger bomb and energized the lineup while opening up scoring. If this comes at home, it could have been closer to a perfect score. While the Texas fans were appreciative of the souvenir, we give this a score just short of a perfect ten on the Dodgers Nation prominence score.

Be ready for a flurry of these posts over the final month. I am feeling it.

Dodgers Nation Prominence HR Score: 9.0

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Staff Writer

Staff Writer features content written by our site editors along with our staff of contributing writers. Thank you for your readership.

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