It’s been a trying 2021 season for Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger, but perhaps a change in appearance will help him turn things around.
It’s not too late. There’s still a week left in the season and hopefully a lengthy October run for the defending World Series champs. All he’ll need to do is deliver in some capacity on the big stage and almost all will be forgiven.
And now that he’s a bit lighter after shaving his head, maybe that bat speed will get back to its usual form.
Bellinger debuted his new haircut on Saturday after rocking the long flow for a few years, and we’d be lying if we said he didn’t look completely different.
Dodgers slugger Cody Bellinger shaved his head and looks totally different.
Woah! Who’s that guy? And what have you done with the fan-favorite stoner version of Belli?! We kid. But seriously, you never really appreciate how cool long hair really looks until you chop it all off.
Though we’d love to think this drastic decision made by Bellinger as he sat in the barber’s chair will make a difference in his play, we can’t be that beholden to superstition. He’s been having one of the worst seasons of any individual player in MLB … then again, all that means is a semblance of progress will make him look that much better.
Can the hair at least help there?!
Bellinger’s been relegated to part-time duties and hasn’t appeared in a game since Sept. 17 as he continues to deal with a non-displaced rib fracture — yet another ailment that’s undoubtedly affected his production — which landed him on the injured list this month.
On the year, he’s hitting .159 with a .529 OPS through 89 games and hasn’t belted a homer since Aug. 11. At this point, it’s unclear if he’ll be used at all the rest of the way and in the postseason given his latest injury coupled with the fact there’s been no sign of the former MVP and Rookie of the Year turning it around.
At this point it feels nothing short of an identity change will help Bellinger, but we can hope, right? This 100-win team will be completely different even if he’s able to rediscover 50% of his power stroke. If his new hairdo plays any role in that, we’re really going to wonder why he didn’t consider the little-stitous change earlier in the year.
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