How Yankees' Cody Bellinger decided on his unique batting stance

The Yankees knew Cody Bellinger was a stand-up guy when they acquired him from the Cubs in the offseason. They may not have known how much being a stand-up guy has led to his success at the plate.

“He definitely has a unique stance,” manager Aaron Boone said. “You know it’s Cody up there, the silhouette up there, just as erect as he stands. Pretty effective.”

Bellinger has a recognizable stance in which he stands ramrod straight and holds his bat completely flat on his shoulders. Before the pitcher throws, Bellinger raises his hands to head level with the bat still perfectly horizontal to the ground before bringing it back into hitting position and whipping the bat through the zone.

“I’ve been a flat-bat guy since Double-A,” Bellinger said. “Got introduced to it in Double-A and just kind of the hand move, the way the barrel moves, it’s more efficient for me that way than it is vertical.”

Bellinger used the stance when he was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2017, when he hit .267 with 39 home runs for the Dodgers. He used it when he was the NL MVP in 2019, when he hit .305 with 47 home runs for the Dodgers.

And he’s stuck with it even during his down seasons, of which there have been more than a few (the Dodgers non-tendered Bellinger after the 2022 season, when he hit .210 with 19 home runs).

Bellinger excelled in his first spring training with the Yankees, batting .324 with four home runs and a 1.214 OPS.

On Thursday, he went 1-for-2 with a single, sacrifice fly, walk and strikeout in the Yankees’ 4-2 Opening Day win over the Brewers.

Bellinger has a history of shoulder injuries, including frequent dislocations of his right shoulder, which is the front one for the lefthanded batter.

In 2020, Bellinger reinjured the shoulder by forearm-bashing teammate Enrique Hernandez while celebrating a home run in Game 7 of the National League Championship Series against Atlanta. He “popped it back in” and played in the World Series.

Bellinger said being a flat-bat hitter is not related to his past shoulder woes.

“The reason for me was just the back elbow, just the way it moves, the way it enters the zone,” he said. “From that position, it’s more efficient, as opposed to my bat vertical.”

Bellinger said he starts his swing — un-flats the bat, if you will — based on what pitch he thinks is coming.

“The cat-and-mouse game,” he said. “Depends on what the pitcher’s got, depends on his motion, depends on the arm release. It’s a bunch of different variables.”

Other Yankees lefthanded hitters use similar timing techniques, but not one of them holds his bat as flat or stands as tall as Bellinger.

Jazz Chisholm Jr., for example, starts with his bat on his shoulders, with the barrel tilted up. He switches the bat to vertical in front on his chest before the pitcher delivers.

Jasson Dominguez, when batting from either side of the plate, also starts with the bat on his shoulders. But the rookie angles the barrel way down, pointing it at the ground, before pulling it back up to level and getting into hitting position.

“Some guys want to get to that point where they feel like it’s flat,” Yankees hitting coach James Rowson said. “So they don’t feel like they’re either wrapping their bat or they don’t feel like they’re getting a bad position. When it’s flat, it’s almost like you know exactly where it is, so they’ve got a good feel for where their barrel is at the right time.

“I like the move for a lot of guys. JD does it. Jazz will do it at times. Belli does it like, religiously. It’s definitely a feeling of ‘I want to be upright. I don’t want to be down.’ So he’s found a position that works for him. That’s his move.”

By Anthony Rieber

anthony.rieber@newsday.comAnthonyRieber

Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.