NEW YORK — Hal Steinbrenner needed proof on Wednesday. He reached for one name.
The Yankees’ owner was answering Aaron Judge’s call for the front office to go all in. He pointed first to a franchise-record payroll. Then he pointed to the late-winter decision to bring back Cody Bellinger on a five-year, $162.5 million contract.
“So we went out and signed Bellinger to a huge contract. Glad we did. He’s a good player,” Steinbrenner said.
The comments landed at a tense moment. The New York Yankees had just been swept out of the ALDS by Tampa Bay, scoring five runs in three games. Steinbrenner spent much of the Zoom session blaming an offense he called detrimental.
Bellinger was part of that offense, and he did not dodge it. After the season-ending 4-3 loss in Game 3 at Yankee Stadium on Oct. 7, he put some of the blame on himself.
“It’s frustrating. Obviously for myself, I needed to be better as well,” the Yankees OF said.
His bat was solid but not spectacular. Bellinger, 31, hit .264 with 17 home runs, 73 RBIs and a .768 OPS in 132 games. At $32.5 million a year, that line alone would not settle the debate over his contract.
He was also one of the few constants in a battered outfield. Aaron Judge missed more than half the season with a fractured rib and then a calf strain. Trent Grisham had an injury-shortened year in center field. Bellinger played 132 of the Yankees’ 162 games and anchored the outfield corner.
The Yankees’ glove work in October did not help the argument either. They committed four errors in Game 2 of the ALDS and fell into a 2-0 series hole.
One day after Steinbrenner’s defense, an independent panel weighed in on the other half of Bellinger’s game.
The best left fielder in baseball
Sports Info Solutions named Bellinger the winner of the 2026 Fielding Bible Award in left field on Thursday. The award goes to the top defender at each position across both leagues, as chosen by a 17-member panel.
The vote was not close. Bellinger collected 14 of 17 first-place votes and 82 points. Milwaukee’s Jackson Chourio finished second with 63 points, and the Cubs’ Ian Happ was third with 45.
Bellinger saved 21 runs in left field, the most at the position. He led all left fielders in the range component of Defensive Runs Saved. He tied for the lead with five runs saved by his arm. His eight assists without a cutoff man were also the most at the position.
It is the third Fielding Bible Award of his career. He won in right field and as a multi-position player in 2019 with the Dodgers, the same season he was named NL MVP.
The Yankees celebrated the honor on social media Thursday.
“Congratulations to Cody Bellinger on winning his third @SportsInfo_SIS Fielding Bible Award!” the team posted.
Fifteen years, three positions, one rival
Bellinger is the first Yankees left fielder to win the award since Brett Gardner won in 2010 and 2011. He is the second Yankees left fielder to win it at all.
He has now won it in three separate categories: right field, multiple positions and left field.
The result also sets up a Gold Glove race with a twist. Bellinger is one of three American League finalists in left field. Another is Tampa Bay’s Chandler Simpson, who plays for the team that ended the Yankees’ season. Texas’ Wyatt Langford is the third.
In the Fielding Bible voting, Simpson finished fourth with 30 points and Langford fifth with 20. Bellinger’s 82 points topped the two Gold Glove rivals combined by 32.
By the common rule of thumb that about 10 runs equals one win, Bellinger’s 21 runs saved were worth about two wins on defense alone. That value does not show up in his .768 OPS.
Bellinger was the lone Yankees winner. Catcher Austin Wells drew 11 points in the catcher voting.
Wells, Bellinger and utility man Jose Caballero are the Yankees’ three Gold Glove finalists. Rawlings will announce the winners on Nov. 1.
Bellinger has four years left on his contract. The Gold Glove vote is his next test.
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