
Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports
The Yankees star has addressed the rumors directly, but fans still aren't totally convinced.
Does Cody Bellinger smoke weed? It’s a question that follows the MLB star everywhere, from his Little League World Series days to his current stint with the Yankees.
With his too-relaxed expression and laid-back demeanor, fans have been speculating about Bellinger’s relationship with marijuana for years. The internet is flooded with memes, Reddit threads, and social media posts analyzing every squinty-eyed appearance. But what’s the actual story behind the rumors?
Let’s break down what Bellinger has said himself, what fans think, and whether there’s any truth to the idea that this baseball star might be lighting up off the field.

Los Angeles Times
The short answer: Bellinger has stated he does not smoke weed, but his phrasing left room for interpretation.
During a 2020 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel asked Bellinger point-blank: “And Cody, do people tell you you’re high all the time? That you look like you’re high?” Bellinger froze for a moment—a reaction Kimmel found ironic—before responding.
“I am not high during the games, OK?” Bellinger clarified. “If you look at me in the Little League World Series, I look faded. I was not smoking when I was 12 either. I’m not high, that’s just how my face looks.”
Kimmel agreed, saying he, too, suffers from a squinty face that makes people think he’s stoned when he’s not. The exchange was lighthearted, but Bellinger’s specific phrasing—”not high during the games”—sparked even more speculation online.
Fans on Reddit immediately picked up on it, too. User u/baysta commented: “Not high ‘during‘ the games! What about before and after?!” Another deleted user wrote: “I’m confident it’s one of those situations where he blazes 24/7 when he’s not at practice/teams meetings/playing in game/etc. As a result, he is essentially in a state of ‘perma-baked’ where even if he hasn’t smoked for a few hours (or even all day), he is still gonna look and sound absolutely blasted at all times.”
When Bellinger joined the Yankees for the 2024 season, the rumors resurfaced. During his first media day appearance, fans immediately took to social media to comment on his appearance. One post on X (formerly Twitter) read, “Cody Bellinger looks stoned. So sick and twisted.” Christopher Powers from Golf Digest chimed in: “That man is looking like JR Smith at 4:21 p.m. on April 20th. Ripped. Zooted. On Mars. Whatever the kids are saying these days.”
The speculation isn’t new. Throughout his career with the Dodgers and now with the Yankees, Bellinger has faced constant questions about Cody Bellinger weed rumors. A Sportskeeda article from 2024 gathered several tweets from fans who thought Cody was high during a Yankees game. This narrative has spent years following him from stadium to stadium.
But here’s the thing: Bellinger has never explicitly denied smoking weed off the field. His careful wording during the Kimmel interview—emphasizing he’s not high during games—means he understands how to navigate the question without fully addressing it. Whether that’s intentional or just how he chose to phrase his answer, fans have taken it as confirmation that Cody Bellinger smoking weed might happen when he’s not playing.

Bleed Cubbie Club
Based on everything we know, Cody probably doesn’t smoke or use weed regularly—at least not during the season.
Bellinger’s own words suggest he’s not consuming cannabis during games or while actively playing baseball. Given the physical demands of professional baseball and the scrutiny players face, it wouldn’t make sense for him to smoke before or during game time. MLB’s substance policies, while less strict than other leagues regarding weed, still have potential punishments for violations. Players who test positive face consequences, even though the league has relaxed its stance in recent years.
The “perma-baked” theory from Reddit—that Bellinger might consume cannabis so regularly during downtime that it affects his appearance even when he hasn’t smoked recently—is pure speculation at best. While chronic cannabis use can definitely affect how someone looks and acts, attributing Bellinger’s appearance solely to weed ignores his own explanation: that’s just how his face looks naturally.
What seems most likely? If Bellinger does consume cannabis, it’s probably during the off-season when he’s not under the same performance and testing pressures. Many athletes across sports choose to use cannabis for recovery, relaxation, or personal enjoyment when they’re not competing. It’s become increasingly socially acceptable, and in many states where Bellinger has played—California with the Dodgers, New York with the Yankees—it’s fully legal.
But the case for Bellinger being a regular cannabis user during the season has its weak points. His performance on the field speaks for itself. You don’t maintain a successful MLB career across multiple teams if you’re showing up impaired. Whatever problems fans might imagine, Bellinger’s consistent play shows that he’s handling his life and professional responsibilities just fine.
The truth is, we don’t really know. Bellinger has given us just enough information to understand he’s not getting high during games, but not enough to stop the speculation entirely. Maybe that’s intentional—keeping fans guessing while maintaining plausible deniability. Or maybe he’s just tired of explaining that his natural appearance includes squinty eyes and a relaxed expression.
At the end of the day, whether or not Cody Bellinger smokes weed off the field is his business. What we know for certain is that whatever he’s doing, it’s not affecting his ability to hit home runs and compete at the highest level of baseball. The rest? Just another page in the ongoing story of fans reading way too much into an athlete’s facial expressions.

Athlon Sports
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