Nobody is sadder to see July end than Cody Bellinger.
For the second year in a row, the Chicago Cubs superstar dominated the middle month of the season. Despite spending much of the month on the injured list with a fractured finger after getting hit by a pitch on July 10, he still managed to make the most of it.
Bellinger was off to a strong start in July before going down, batting .290/.371/.355 in his first eight games of the month. He picked up where he left off when he returned to the lineup on July 30, going 2-for-4 and homering in his first game back. He ended the month on a high note, going 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBI in the Cubs’ 13-4 rout of the Cincinnati Reds.
Despite playing only 10 games in July and suffering a significant injury in the middle of the month, the former NL MVP was outstanding, batting .350/.409/.475 with seven RBI and eight runs.
But then again, Bellinger is no stranger to great Julys. In fact, his 1.054 OPS in the month is the highest in franchise history since 1906, beating out Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby (1.015) and Hack Wilson (.985).
Many Chicago fans will remember that Bellinger was even hotter last July, when he slashed .400/.432/.690 with eight homers, 24 RBI and a whopping 40 hits, leading the Cubs to a 15-11 record. He got a hit nearly every day that month, hitting safely in 22 of 26 games in what was easily his best month of the season.
Bellinger continued to rake in August (.887 OPS) before falling off a bit in September (.827 OPS) as Chicago slumped to end the season, missing the playoffs. Based on how he finished last month, he could be poised for an even bigger August this year.
