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LOS ANGELES — In just his second week in the majors, and his first full week, Dodgers first baseman Cody Bellinger was named the National League Player of the Month on Monday.
Bellinger was 9-for-21 (.429) with three home runs, a double, and a triple in five games last week for the Dodgers, including four multi-hit games. He scored eight runs, drove in a league-high 12, walked once, and even stole a base. His 1.000 slugging percentage tied for the NL lead last week.
Dodgers rookie POTW
| Player | Pos | Week |
|---|---|---|
| Player | Pos | Week |
| Ron Cey | 3B | May 14-20, 1973 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | SP | Apr 6-12, 1981 |
| Fernando Valenzuela | SP | Aug 31-Sep 6, 1981 |
| Candy Maldonado | OF | Apr 16-22, 1984 |
| Eric Karros | 1B | Jul 27-Aug 2, 1992 |
| Mike Piazza | C | Apr 26-May 2, 1993 |
| Mike Piazza | C | Jun 14-20, 1993 |
| Mike Piazza | C | Sep -Oct 3, 1993 |
| Hideo Nomo | SP | Jun 19-25, 1995 |
| Andre Ethier | OF | Jul 3-9, 2006 |
| Yasiel Puig | OF | Jun 3-9, 2013 |
| Cody Bellinger | 1B/OF | May 1-7, 2017 |
He hit two home runs on Friday night against the Padres, then followed that up with a grand slam on Saturday, driving in a career-high five runs. Bellinger is the first Dodger with five home runs in his first 11 career games, and is off to one of the strongest starts of any Dodgers rookie ever.
Per Elias, Bellinger is the second player since 1920 — when RBI became an official statistic — with at least five home runs and 14 RBI in his first 11 career games. That the other was Royals first baseman Mark Quinn — five home runs, 16 RBI in 1999 — is a reminder that baseball will forever continue to amaze us all.
Bellinger is the first Dodger to win NL Player of the Week since Zack Greinke for the week of July 13-19, 2015. He is the first Dodgers position player to win the award since Adrian Gonzalez, for the week of April 6-12, 2015.
Bellinger is the first Dodgers rookie to do so since Yasiel Puig for the week of June 3-9, 2013, in Puig’s first week in the majors.
In all, there have been nine Dodgers rookies to capture player of the week honors, dating back to Ron Cey in 1973. Mike Piazza (three times, in 1993) and Fernando Valenzuela (twice, in 1981) are the only rookies in franchise history to win multiple player of the week awards.