The Los Angeles Dodgers may be widely regarded as the best team in baseball, but it was two former Dodgers who stole the spotlight in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.
New York Yankee Cody Bellinger took home the MVP award for his two-run single, and Miguel Vargas of the Chicago White Sox added a solo homer of his own.
That Vargas homer was the lone mistake for the otherwise stellar Dodgers pitcher Justin Wrobleski, who was a late add to the Midsummer Classic but who struck out five batters in the contest.
Cody Bellinger’s night in Philadelphia caps off career resurgence
Bellinger’s single was the lone hit on his 1-for-3 night, but it opened the scoring for the American League and, given the AL pitching corps’ collective 15-strikeout game, it was all the side needed to win.
Bellinger, who won Rookie of the Year and MVP awards during his six seasons with the Dodgers, now adds to his trophy case in his first All-Star appearance since that MVP season in 2019.
He also has another sign that he’s turned the corner from his last couple of seasons with the Dodgers, which were notably beneath the hot start to his career in Dodger Blue.
Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman was actually asked about Bellinger ahead of the All-Star Game, and he addressed that concern directly.
“I don’t think he was ever the worst player,” Freeman said in reference to some self-criticism from Bellinger. “It’s the ‘never give up.’ There’s so many people that can be really, really good and they taper off, and they don’t try to reinvent themselves or figure out something new. I was there when he was struggling at the end with us, and to have that revive with the Cubs and carry it over to the Yankees, it’s special.”
Freeman added that righting the ship after a down period can be an especially difficult thing to do in a sport already known for being hard.
“It’s hard to be consistently good in this game over a long time. And it’s even more cool when guys have a down year and they rebound. It’s so hard to do that,” he said. “Credit to Cody. We love Cody at the Dodgers and we wish him success.”
Freeman also had a note for his former teammate.
“He’s never been the worst player. Tell him to stop saying that,” Freeman said with a laugh.
