Cody Bellinger's All-Star MVP Experience Comes With 2 Takeaways for Yankees

It has taken years for Cody Bellinger to return to the All-Star Game, and his return comes with some important lessons.

Cody Bellinger's MVP performance at the 2026 MLB All-Star Game comes with some takeaways for the Yankees. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cody Bellinger and Aaron Judge looked like they would have similar career trajectories in 2017. Both held leading roles in storied franchises despite just breaking into the league. Bellinger himself admitted that after winning the MLB All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player after going 1-for-3 with two RBIs while sporting a Yankees jersey.

Despite just being 31 years old, Bellinger has lived a full baseball life with the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, going from league MVP to designated for assignment in a few short years. That's a valuable lesson for guys like Cam Schlittler and Ben Rice.

Nothing is guaranteed for young Yankees stars

A player can have all of the talent and potential in the world, but that doesn't mean an appearance at baseball's annual All-Star event is guaranteed. That's something that Bellinger learned the hard way.

"My first few years in the big leagues—I was here, I think, two of my first three years, and I was like, 'I'll be here every year.' It took a long time to get back," Bellinger said, according to the New York Post's Mark W. Sanchez.

The former National League MVP was named an MLB All-Star twice between 2017 and 2019, only to go seven consecutive seasons without receiving the honor. That shows how quickly things can change around the majors.

Making memories at the Midsummer Classic 📸#RepBX | #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/nYfayxGHr8

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 14, 2026

Schlittler is just shy of a year removed from his big-league debut, and Rice has been on a meteoric rise ever since coming out of Spring Training in 2025. Neither has had much of an odyssey to reach the Summer Classic, and in many ways, they're so good that they make the sport look too easy. It's where Bellinger was during the infancy of his career.

Bellinger is a walking reminder that, while it may seem like there will be an abundance of highs for his young teammates, you never know what can happen. He comes armed with a wealth of experience that Schlittler and Rice can draw on, making sure they realize things may not feel as easy as they do now.

Bellinger needs to leave by example on the field, too

This was one positive of the Yankees running it back this winter and avoiding Kyle Tucker. In hindsight, Bellinger has been the better move as far as the numbers go—that is, unless Tucker has a monstrous second half, which he is capable of—but that type of leadership is hard to come by in any walk of life. Not just baseball.

As for the games themselves, the Yankees need Bellinger not just to be a locker-room leader but also to find his bat again on the field. The big hope is that the two-out, two-RBI knock in the All-Star game was the start of something. Cristopher Sánchez is no slouch, and hitting one up the middle off one of the best pitchers in the sport is a reminder of who he was before his long slump began.

Since Judge went down after the May 31 game against the Athletics, Bellinger has hit .226/.289/.336 with a 76 wRC+ in 152 plate appearances. During a time when the Yankees needed him to produce the most, his bat had faltered.

Now sitting three games behind the Rays, Bellinger needs to lead this team on and off the field. It's the only way the Yankees will survive this Judge-less span, win the division and hopefully have home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.