The Los Angeles Dodgers had made the playoffs for eight straight seasons, and had played in three of the last four World Series, but it was only last month when they finally got over the hump, beating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first championship in 32 years. In this post, however, we're specifically focusing on Cody Bellinger's net worth in 2021.
One of the players who helped the Dodgers erase years of postseason heartbreak was outfielder Cody Bellinger, who was drafted by the team in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft and made his debut in the majors four years later.
Cody Bellinger's net worth in 2021 (estimate): $2.5 million
A handful of seasons into his MLB career and Bellinger had already a couple of All Stars appearance, a National League MVP trophy, along with other individual awards, and now has a championship to go with them. He is coming off a season where he earned $11.5 million, which set a record for a player in his first year of arbitration eligibility. That’s more than 19 times his salary in his MVP season in 2019, when he made just $605,000, which was part of his rookie salary.
Bellinger’s massive pay day earlier this year boosted his net worth, which is now estimated to be at $2.5 million, per CelebNetWorths. But after winning a championship for Los Angeles and establishing himself as one of the best players in the league, the 25-year old will likely be rewarded with more big contracts. He’s already set to make $13 million in the 2021 season, according to Spotrac, which is a far cry from his earnings in his first few years and a testament to how far he’s come since his majors debut.
Bellinger, the son of former MLB player Clay Bellinger, who played as an outfielder for three seasons for the New York Yankees and the then-Anaheim Angels, earned a $700,000 signing bonus after being drafted by the Dodgers in 2013. After playing in the minor leagues for nearly four years, he was finally called up to the majors in April 25, 2017, making his debut for the Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants, where he had one hit in three at-bats with an intentional walk.
He would player 132 games in his first season, slashing .267/.352/.581 with 39 home runs and 97 RBIs, helping the Dodgers finish with a 104-58 record, the best in the division. Bellinger would play in all 15 of the team’s playoff games, with a .219 batting average, with three home runs and nine RBI. The Dodgers, however, would lost to the Houston Astros in seven games in the 2017 World Series. Bellinger’s efforts, however, would not go unnoticed, as he was unanimously named as the National League Rookie of the Year while earning a salary of $535,000 in his first year in the majors.
Los Angeles would finish with a 92-71 record the following season, with Bellinger seeing action in 162 of the team's 163 games. He finished the season with averages of .260/.343/.470 with 25 home runs, seven triples, 28 doubles, 76 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. On April 1, 2018, he became the third fastest player in MLB history to hit his 40th home run, doing it in just 136 games, which trails Rudy York and Mark McGwire.
The Dodgers would reach the World Series for the second straight year, with the outfielder playing in 16 games. He was named as the NLCS MVP, helping Los Angeles beat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. The Dodgers, however, would lose to the Boston Red Sox in five games in the 2018 World Series. Bellinger’s salary would see a slight increase from his rookie year, as he earned $585,000 in his second year in the majors.
Bellinger’s best season of his young career would come in 2019, when he was named as the National League MVP, slashing .406/.629/1.035, with 47 home runs, 34 doubles, 115 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases, which are all career highs. He rewrote the record books during his MVP season, becoming the fastest player in Dodgers history to hit 100 home runs, and the youngest in franchise history to hit 40 home runs in a season at 24 years old. Los Angeles would finish the season with a 106-56 record, shattering the franchise record for most wins in a season previously held by the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers.
Their playoff run, however, would come to an abrupt end at the hands of eventual champions, the Washington Nationals, who defeated them in five games in the 2019 NLDS. Nevertheless, Cody Bellinger reaped more awards by the season’s end, taking home the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award, becoming just the fifth player in Dodgers history to win both awards in the same season. He would earn just $605,000 in his third season with the Dodgers, but with him entering his first year of arbitration eligibility, that was about to change.
The Dodgers rewarded Bellinger’s MVP run with a record one-year, $11.5 million deal for the 2020 season, which was shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 25-year old would help Los Angeles finish with a 43-17 record and the team’s eighth consecutive division title, hitting .239/.333/.455, with 12 homers, 10 homers, 30 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 56 games, which are all career-low numbers and far from his percentages during his MVP year.
In the team’s title run, he would play 18 games, slashing .212/.316/.455 with four home runs and 13 RBIs. In the 2020 World Series against Tampa Bay, he hit just .136 with one home run and three RBIs, but the Dodgers would finally win their first title since 1988 after beating the Rays in six games. He didn’t end the 2020 season with a host of individual awards unlike the previous year, but Bellinger was finally able to call himself a champion.
Now, he’s not only lined up for more big pay days, but also has the opportunity to help the Dodgers win more titles, as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and will earn a staggering $13 million in 2021, with Los Angeles looking to repeat as champions. After toiling in the minor leagues for years, Cody Bellinger's net worth in 2021 is going to rise… even more so moving forward.
Bellinger had a hot start to his MLB career, winning a number of awards, including the NL MVP last year. But the Dodgers could not match his individual success as they fell short in postseason after postseason, including two painful World Series losses. But even if his numbers were down this year, Bellinger was finally able to help his team win a championship. That can only mean good things for his future salary and net worth, which are both about to have a massive increase.
Nonetheless, given all the intel provided, were you at all shocked by Cody Bellinger's net worth in 2021?
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