Ahead of this season, the Los Angeles Dodgers released Cody Bellinger (28), who was once believed to be a key outfielder of the team and would grow as a franchise star. What everyone was expecting to happen actually happened.
Bellinger, who debuted in the major leagues wearing a Dodgers uniform in 2017 and recorded 39 homers and 97 RBIs and won the Rookie of the Year Award, batted 0.305, 47 homers, 115 RBIs, and an OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) of 1.035 in 156 games in 2019. He won the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) title. However, from 2020, he was also the one who put the team in trouble due to frequent injuries and poor performance.
The sluggish performance in 2020 (OPS 0.789) could be attributed to the aftermath of the shortened season due to the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). The sluggishness in the 2021 season (OPS 0.542) was thought to be the aftermath of an injured shoulder injury during the 2020 World Series. However, the story changed when it stopped at OPS 0.654 in 2022, which was expected by revising the batting form. Like the possibility of a rebound, the salary was also a problem.
The Dodgers had no intention of paying an annual salary of 17 million dollars (approximately 22.4 billion won) to Bellinger, who had reached the final year of salary adjustment. Deciding that he wasn’t worth it, the Dodgers pulled out the rumored ‘Non-Tender’, or release card. He was an MVP just three years ago, but his sluggishness was relentless.
However, this choice by the Dodgers is likely to be a godsend. This is because the performance of James Outman (26), a new outfielder who had a spot after Bellinger’s release, was unusual. Outman, who debuted in the major leagues last year as a minor league prospect and played in four games, proved his eligibility for survival in this year’s exhibition game, and eventually joined the opening roster and now has a starting position.
As of the 10th (Korean time), Outman, who is playing as a center fielder, has played in all 10 games played by the team this year, with a batting average of 0.296, 3 homers, 9 RBIs, and an OPS of 1.235. His adjusted OPS is a whopping 216.
Outman recorded a whopping 32 bases in his first 12 major league games (based on games with more than one at-bat). That’s an average of 2.67 base hits per game. Even two singles per game and one double are not enough. That’s how many long hits with more than two bases came out. 카지노사이트
There are only two instances in Dodgers history where a rookie has scored 32 or more in his first 12 games. In 2013, Yasiel Puig holds the club record with 34 bases. In second place is Outman’s predecessor, Bellinger, who hit 33 in 2017. Outman’s start is just as good. Both Puig and Bellinger later became All-Stars.
Outman is a player who can hit the ball fast and, as his home run count proves, can hit it far. The feet are fast here. The defensive range is also relatively wide, so growth as a good defender is also expected. left handed here This is also quite similar to the evaluation Bellinger received in 2017. The Dodgers boldly gave up on Bellinger, saving at least 20 billion won and even achieving a generational change in the outfield. The phrase killing two birds with one stone is used in such cases.