Bellinger up for NL MVP, Ryu for Cy Young
Ken Gurnick
@kengurnickLOS ANGELES -- Dodgers All-Stars Cody Bellinger and Hyun-Jin Ryu are finalists for the National League Most Valuable Player Award and Cy Young Award, respectively, the Baseball Writers' Association of America announced on Monday.
Bellinger, who won the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for NL right fielders on Sunday, is joined by MVP finalists Christian Yelich of Milwaukee (the defending champion) and World Series hero Anthony Rendon of Washington. The winner will be announced on Nov. 14.
Ryu, the Major League ERA champ, is joined by Cy Young finalists Jacob deGrom of the Mets (the defending champion) and three-time winner Max Scherzer of the Nationals. The winner will be announced on Nov. 13.
Bellinger and Ryu are attempting to be the first Dodgers to win those awards since Clayton Kershaw, who won both in his record-breaking 2014 season. Kershaw was the first Dodgers MVP since Kirk Gibson in 1988. The Dodgers have won 12 Cy Young Awards and 13 MVPs.
The 24-year-old Bellinger recorded career highs in runs (121), hits (170), doubles (34), home runs (47), RBIs (115), walks (95) and stolen bases (15) with a .305/.406/.629/1.035 slash line. He finished fourth in the Majors with 47 homers and broke the franchise home record for home runs, previously held by Gil Hodges and Duke Snider.
Bellinger was the first Dodger with more than 100 RBIs since Adrian Gonzalez in 2014. On Aug. 2, he reached 100 career home runs, passing Mike Piazza as the fastest player in Dodgers franchise history to reach the mark. He also set the franchise record for most home runs before the All-Star break with 30.
Bellinger was named National League Player of the Month for the month of April, when he posted a slash line of .431/.508/.890 with six doubles, one triple, 14 home runs and 37 RBIs over 31 games.
The 32-year-old Ryu, now a free agent, was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star Game and finished the season 14-5. He led the Major Leagues with a 2.32 ERA and ranked among NL leaders in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2nd, 6.79), WHIP (3rd, 1.01), opponents’ OBP (3rd, .263), fewest home runs allowed per nine innings (2nd, 0.84) and baserunners allowed per nine innings (3rd, 9.26).
He was nearly perfect in 14 starts at Dodger Stadium, going 10-1 with a 1.93 ERA (20 earned runs in 93 1/3 innings pitched), striking out 94 batters against 15 walks while posting a 0.94 WHIP and holding opponents to a .214/.251/.326 slash line. He led Major League starters in home ERA and ranked among NL pitchers in WHIP (7th, 0.94), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4th, 6.27) and walks per nine innings (5th, 1.45).
Ryu recorded a 32 scoreless-inning streak from May 1 to May 25, the longest such streak in the Major Leagues in 2019, and was named NL Pitcher of the Month for May after posting a 5-0 record and a 0.59 ERA (3 ER in 45 2/3 IP) in six starts.