Cody Bellinger rounds the bases on his two-run homer in the first inning Saturday.
Nuccio DiNuzzo/Getty Images
When agent Scott Boras stood on a makeshift dais at the MLB general manager meetings in November in Las Vegas and told reporters that Cody Bellinger just needed to restore strength in his surgically repaired right shoulder to regain his National League MVP form from 2019, it came across as a sales pitch.
As Bellinger stroked two opposite-field home runs in the Cubs’ 6-4 victory Saturday against the Royals — a pair of rockets soaring to join with the periodic buzzing of Wrigley Field from the Air & Water Show — it served as a reminder that it’s enticing to dream about player ceilings because they sometimes are realized.
‘‘I hate to repeat myself,’’ Cubs starter Justin Steele said before repeating a line he used last month. ‘‘He’s just must-watch television at this point.’’
In the case of Bellinger’s four-RBI outburst backing up Steele’s 16th quality start of a season in which he will garner NL Cy Young votes, it serves as a reminder that sometimes ceilings are realized at the same time. When they are, it can result in the Cubs (63-59) playing meaningful baseball in late August a year earlier than anticipated.
‘‘I probably — looking back — would have taken a little more time,’’ Bellinger said, reflecting on his efforts to return quickly from his 2020 shoulder injury that led to two seasons of struggles. ‘‘I obviously took weightlifting pretty seriously this offseason. I did more workouts that benefitted my body through what I was dealing with. Once I picked up a bat, I could tell the difference.’’
Despite missing a month with a knee injury, Bellinger is tied for the team lead with 20 homers and leads the Cubs with 63 RBI. Even if consideration for the award will be a stretch, Bellinger’s .326/.375/.564 batting line looks MVP-caliber, especially when paired with his strong defense in center field and at first base.
‘‘Putting the lineup on his back is what he does,’’ manager David Ross said.
Bellinger’s wiry lefty frame pushing two fly balls into the left-field bleachers is representative of the elite power he has restored to his swing, conjuring memories of the 111 homers he hit in the first three seasons of his career.
For Ross, however, those blasts — and maybe even more so Bellinger fighting off an 0-2 pitch for a sacrifice fly to left in the fourth — reminded him of early work. In the middle of a dominant two-month stretch, Bellinger was taking optional batting practice Saturday, trying to drive the ball to left-center and restore a direction he thought was ebbing away from his approach.
‘‘I just didn’t like how I felt [Friday] and just wanted to come early and get some extra reps and feel what I wanted to feel,’’ Bellinger said. ‘‘It’s just understanding myself and being able to control my moves and what I want to do in the box. It’s all kind of correlated. When I feel off, trying to get right back on track.’’
As simple as Bellinger can make the game look, the explanation for the Cubs happening upon a dominant force in the middle of a lineup that once lacked it is simpler still. A great player got hurt and became devalued and, now healthy, is great once more.
Even as the North Siders reap the reward in a season that looked poised for a deadline sell-off and gloomy finish barely more than a month ago, the desire to keep Bellinger in place beyond this season nudges into the frame.
‘‘It really is great here,’’ Bellinger said before batting aside any further talk of his pending free agency. ‘‘We have [40] games left, and we’re in a playoff race. That’s really the only thing I’m focusing on: trying to go out every day and help this team win.’’
