Cody Bellinger Joins Elite Yankees List After Winning All-Star MVP Honor

Cody Bellinger made his first appearance in the MLB All-Star Game since 2019 and went 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs.

Cody Bellinger Joins Elite Yankees List After Winning All-Star MVP Honor

Cody Bellinger (Image via X/@eyyankees)

Cody Bellinger was back in the All-Star Game on Tuesday night. In his first appearance since 2019, the outfielder came up big and picked up 2 RBIs in American League’s 4-0 win over the National League. He later joined an elite New York Yankees list after being named the All-Star MVP.

Bellinger, the former National League MVP, earned his 3rd All-Star nod this year. With 11 home runs and 51 RBIs this season, he was not just an All-Star but also started the game for the American League.

The AL All-Stars jumped into the lead early on in the first. Following a single from Yordan Alvarez, NL’s starting pitcher Christopher Sanchez gave up walks to Shea Langeliers and Bobby Witt Jr. which loaded up the bases.

Bellinger smashed a single in the center field allowing Alvarez and Langeliers to score. His 2-run single gave the AL an early lead. Moments later, his Yankees teammate Ben Rice, who participated in the Home Run Derby on Monday, hit a single to the center field to put the American League 3-0 up.

Chicago White Sox’s Miguel Vargas crushed a solo home run in the 8th inning and extended the AL team’s lead to 4-0. The AL pitchers combined to pick up 15 strikeouts and shut out the National League to win the All-Star Game again. This was the first shut out in the All-Star Game since 2013. With the AL cruising to a dominant shutout victory, fans looking to follow the action heading into the second half of the season can check the latest MLB scores and odds to stay ahead of every matchup.

Bellinger, who went 1-for-3 was named the MVP. His 2-run single in the first inning turned out to be the winning runs for his team.

Bellinger became just the 4th Yankees star to win this honor. He thus joined Derek Jeter (2000), Mariano Rivera (2013) and Giancarlo Stanton (2022) in an elite list of Yankees player to be named the MVP of the All-Star Game.

Jeter and Rivera are MLB Hall of Famers while Stanton is regarded as one of the best sluggers of this generation. So for Bellinger, it is not a bad list to be in.

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Cody Bellinger reflected on his journey back to All-Star Game since 2019

After a hot start, Cody Bellinger‘s career cooled down a bit. Following an impressive comeback in the 2023 and 2025 season, he was back in the All-Star Game this year. While speaking with the reporters later on, the 31-year-old reflected on his journey back to this game.

Cody Bellinger
Cody Bellinger (Image via MLB)

His first appearance came in 2017 as a rookie, with 2019 being his second All-Star Game. In 3 years in the major leagues with the Los Angeles Dodgers, he had earned 2 All-Star nominations.

After that he suffered a slump. Injuries and inconsistent productions saw him being non-tendered by the Dodgers following the 2022 season. He then moved to the Chicago Cubs in 2023 where had a career resurgence. In 2025, he joined the New York Yankees and switched to the American League.

In the press conference after the event, Bellinger admitted that it is hard to earn an All-Star nod.

Pretty special. My first few years in the big leagues, I was here I think two of my first three years. I was, like, ‘Oh, I’ll be here every year.’ It took a long time to get back. It’s such a competitive league. It’s hard to be an All-Star.

Cody Bellinger told the reporters as per SNY

According to OptaSTATS, Bellinger is also the only one to be a Rookie of the Year (2017), an LCS MVP (2018), a league MVP (2019), a World Series winner (2020) and an All-Star Game MVP (2026). No one else in MLB has won all 5 of this honors.

The attention now turns towards the 2nd half of the season. The Yankees are currently 2nd in the AL East division with a 54-42 record.

Their first series after the All-Star break sees them take one of Bellinger’s former team, the Los Angeles Dodgers. This will be the Dodgers’ first series against the Yankees in New York since the 2024 World Series, which they won 4-1.

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