Cody Bellinger is extremely upset.
The outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers was displeased with comments made by Houston Astros owner Jim Crane that their sign-stealing actions “didn’t impact the game.”
Just a day after these controversial remarks, the 2019 National League MVP cast doubt on the Astros’ World Series victory and Jose Altuve’s 2017 AL MVP win.
Bellinger shared his disbelief saying, “That’s just outrageous. I don’t know if (Crane) intended to say that or not, but that’s clearly false, because being aware of what pitch is coming significantly affects the game,” as reported by Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.
Regarding MLB commissioner Rob Manfred’s handling of the situation, Bellinger criticized the leniency, stating, “I thought the punishment was insufficient, granting immunity to (the players). I mean, these players were cheating for three years. What some may overlook is that Altuve took the MVP title from (Aaron) Judge in ’17. Everyone is aware they took the championship away from us,” Bellinger added, according to Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times.
Despite Judge’s impressive stats of 52 home runs and a 1.049 OPS, he finished behind Altuve in the race for the 2017 AL MVP title.
Bellinger didn’t stop there, raising the possibility of the Astros using buzzers to tip off pitches.
He expressed his disbelief by stating, “I can’t fathom a scenario where someone hits a walk-off home run against Aroldis Chapman to propel their team to the World Series and, firstly, thinks, ‘Don’t remove my jersey.’ But secondly, goes into the tunnel, changes their shirt, and then reemerges,” as per ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez.
