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NL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES: CUBS VS DODGERS

October 15, 2017

Cody Bellinger

Los Angeles, California - pregame 2

Q. Cody, talk about what a difference a year makes. This time last year you're playing the Arizona Fall League, and now you're playing in the Championship Series.
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, it's been a blessing for sure. Yeah, it's been crazy, man. This whole year I've just been kind of trying to soak it in as much as I can. Trying to enjoy this moment as much as I can with the team and the family.

Q. So four games in, what have you learned about postseason baseball? What's different?
CODY BELLINGER: It's stressful. It's fun. Everything matters a little more, every at-bat matters a little more. But you try to treat it like a regular season game. I'm going to try to treat it like I faced Lester in June or whatever it was and see how that plays out.

Q. I know a lot of guys have made an impact on you this year, but what one or two teammates have really taken you under their wing, and how have they done so this year?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, there have been a few. We have so many veterans on this team that took me in and taught me the ways, starting from Spring Training this year.

I would say the number one guy for me was Andre Ethier, locker mates. He goes about it in a different way, but it's awesome having him next to my side.

Q. What are the ways in which your approaches to left-handed pitching have evolved over the course of the season?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I would say ever since 2015 in Rancho I learned something, and it just kind of took that and ran with it. I kind of had some success. For whatever reason, I don't get scared away from a lefty. Just kind of makes me stay within myself a little bit.

Q. How would you describe the different way in which Andre mentors?
CODY BELLINGER: It's a lot of smack talk. He keeps me humble, though, that's for sure. Once you start getting a little confident in a bad way, he'll kind of smack you around and tell you.

Q. On the play that you caught that foul ball and you fell over, the manager was very close to you. Did he help you up?
CODY BELLINGER: He helped me up. He wasn't there to catch my fall. Yeah, it's all good, though. I just tried to get the railing as fast as I could, and luckily the ball just kind of came back towards me and just jumped and caught it.

Q. You're talking about the situation with Lester, because I remember the first time you faced him, you tried to bunt. And the next pitch the bunt was off, and you hit one halfway up the left field pavilion. How important is your success against the game's elite pitchers to building the season we're seeing now?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I think in those certain situations against top pitchers maybe some people try to maybe get scared away. But it's all mental. I just try to treat it like it was a lefty that I've never faced before. I took the name out of it. I just thought it was another lefty that was throwing a cutter and a curveball.

That's kind of how I go about my business against these star pitchers.

Q. When Spring Training started, what were you envisioning 2017 to be like for you? Where did you think you were going to be? Did you think maybe you'd come up in the middle of the season? What were you looking at?
CODY BELLINGER: Honestly, I thought I was going to be a September call-up, maybe mid to end season. But I had no expectations to get called up at the time I did. But when Triple-A season started, I wanted to do everything I could to have the front office trust me if they were to call me up.

Q. The postseason teams have put a lot more into preparing game plans for the teams they're facing. Have you found pitchers so far pitching you differently, attacking you differently, and how so?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I think there's always going to be -- I think the whole second half they tried to pitch me a little different. It's just a matter of if they execute their pitch or not. I do see a consistent game plan, but luckily for us we have in-depth scouting reports as well to see where they're pitching you, and I tried to take advantage of that.

Q. Do you want to share what their game plan is?
CODY BELLINGER: No.

Q. Sort of connecting the dots there, you said your first time against Lester, you didn't look at the name, but obviously they had plenty of data for you to study. Now pitchers are pitching you differently, you're looking at the data, was that sort of an evolution in how you prepare for each game for you this season?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, like I said, being up here, we didn't have that in the Minor Leagues, the kind of information we have now. You can ask for certain pitches in the zone, and it will give you every single pitch. You can watch video on it.

I try to take that to my advantage, watching pitchers, how they throw certain lefties and kind of stuff like that.

Q. What was the strategy against Lester on the basepaths when you saw him in the regular season, and is it any different than what it is now in the postseason?
CODY BELLINGER: No. I think we saw him pick off Zimmerman whenever that was, the last game of the series, so I think we're going to be aggressive like we have all year, not just because he's on the mound, but we're an aggressive team, and hopefully it works out.

Q. This is obviously a town that can make a young man's head spin, yet your feet have never left the ground. How important is it maybe the influence of mom and dad, and how you've been able to handle this remarkable, great stuff this year?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, and I think them, also the guys on this team that have had success in the past and will continue to tell you how hard this game is and it will humble you the next day. So I try to treat every day like it's my last.

Yeah, I think the biggest thing was my dad always told me to respect the game as much as I can on and off the field, and that's what I try to do.

Q. How do you describe the preparation that you had from a defensive standpoint, maybe over the last year or so in the Minor Leagues, knowing you weren't sure where that opportunity was going to come defensively? How much time did you put into the multiple spots that you actually played?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, I would say in Spring Training and Triple-A this year, I would switch off every day for BP, infield, first base and every outfield position. I think it's important, obviously, to play multiple positions. You can get yourself in the lineup more, and that's a big thing for me. I want to play every day, so whatever can get me in the lineup, I'll do.

Q. From your standpoint, beyond just the health, what is it that you've seen from Rich Hill that's allowed him to take off in the second half and beyond?
CODY BELLINGER: Yeah, he's a competitor. He's got -- honestly, he's got the Kershaw mindset when he's on the mound. He's pretty crazy. He expects the ball to go where he wants it to go, and when he doesn't succeed, he's mad at himself. So, like I said, he's a competitor out there, and he competes his ass off every day.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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