Cody Bellinger says Call of Duty brings athletes together as sports and gaming collide at Fanatics Fest
Arash Markazi
Host · Writer
NEW YORK — Cody Bellinger has played for baseball's biggest brands over his career. He on a World Series and an MVP with the Dodgers. He returned to the All-Star Game and was named the game's MVP this week with the Yankees. He has experienced just about every stage imaginable in professional sports.
On Thursday at Fanatics Fest in New York, however, the Yankees outfielder was just another competitor trying to beat teammate Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a game of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4.
Bellinger joined Chisholm at Activision's sprawling 6,400-square-foot Call of Duty experience inside the Javits Center, where fans gathered to watch athletes compete in the latest installment of one of gaming's biggest franchises. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 is scheduled to be released on Oct. 23.
For Bellinger, the crossover between sports, gaming and pop culture felt completely natural.
"I think they blend together in a way," Bellinger said. "A lot of athletes, especially here, play video games, so it blends together. It was really fun. Playing with Jazz and talking smack; that's what it's all about."
That competitive spirit is one reason Call of Duty has become such a fixture inside professional locker rooms.
With more than 500 million copies sold worldwide and more than $35 billion in revenue, the franchise has become as much a part of sports culture as postgame card games or team dinners. Athletes across every major league routinely squad up online, whether it's NBA stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, members of the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs or the NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who have spoken about using the game to strengthen communication and chemistry.
Bellinger has experienced that firsthand throughout his career.
"Lots of my past teams, we all played together," Bellinger said. "It's fun. It brings you together. It brings out the competitiveness. You can talk smack."
Fanatics Fest itself has become a celebration of those overlapping worlds, bringing together athletes, entertainers, collectors and gaming companies under one roof. Walking through the convention floor, Bellinger admitted he wanted to spend more time exploring everything the event had to offer.
"I think it's really cool," he said. "I actually want to explore it a little more. I want to check out everything. It seems like a really good time."
The event came a few days after Bellinger's memorable All-Star Game appearance, where he earned MVP honors while sharing the moment with his daughter, who quickly became one of the stars of the festivities.
"I think she stole the show," Bellinger said with a laugh. "It was fun. It was everything I kind of dreamed of. It was just good to be back. I just tried to enjoy it as much as possible."
The All-Star selection marked another milestone in a career that has included stops with three of baseball's marquee franchises — the Dodgers, Cubs and Yankees.
Asked about the journey, Bellinger said he is trying to appreciate it while he's still living it.
"It's been amazing," he said. "You don't really enjoy it much until it's over. I hope to have a long road ahead of me until it's officially over. Then at some point I'll really look back and appreciate it. I love where I'm at, and it's just been an incredible journey — positive, negative, but that's what it's all about."
Although Bellinger now wears pinstripes, he still maintains close relationships with many of the teammates from the Dodgers' World Series championship club.
"I'm still so close with so many of them," Bellinger said. "A few of them are still over there, and I just have tremendous respect. They've just been unbelievable these last three years and what they've built over there. For the team that won it, we're all really close. We have great friendships. You get to the very end and it's an unexplainable feeling."
Watching professional esports players compete also gave Bellinger a new appreciation for the highest level of gaming.
"It's competitive," he said. "To be at the top of esports, it's a talent that not many people have. I've reached my peak of gaming, and there's a hundred levels above me. So I respect them."
For a few hours at Fanatics Fest, Bellinger wasn't just an All-Star outfielder. He was another athlete talking trash with teammates, connecting with fans and proving once again why Call of Duty continues to bridge the worlds of sports, entertainment and gaming.
