Albert Belle
Encyclopedia
Albert Jojuan Belle is a former American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...

 for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

, Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

, and Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

. Standing at 6'2 and weighing in at 225 lbs, Albert was one of the leading sluggers of his time, and in 1995 he became the first player to hit 50 doubles and 50 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s in a single season.

Belle was also considered a model of consistency, compiling a .295 career batting average
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

, averaging 37 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 120 RBIs a season over the ten prime years of his major league career from 1991 to 2000. Belle is also one of only six players in major league history to have nine consecutive 100-RBI seasons. However, his combative personality combined with occasional angry outbursts created a reputation for surliness that often overshadowed his on-field hitting performance.

Early life

Albert Belle, and his fraternal twin, Terry, were born on August 25, 1966, in Shreveport
Shreveport, Louisiana
Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, the son of Albert Belle Sr., a high school baseball and football coach, and Carrie Belle, a former math teacher. A former Boy Scout
Boy Scout
A Scout is a boy or a girl, usually 11 to 18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split this age group into a junior and a senior section...

, he attained the rank of Eagle Scout
Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)
Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Boy Scouting program of the Boy Scouts of America . A Scout who attains this rank is called an Eagle Scout or Eagle. Since its introduction in 1911, the Eagle Scout rank has been earned by more than 2 million young men...

. Belle attended Huntington High School in Shreveport, where he was a star baseball and football player, a member of the National Honor Society
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society is a recognition program for high school students in grades 10-12 in the United States and in several other countries...

 and vice president of the local Future Business Leaders of America. He also played little league baseball with future PGA Tour
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour is the organizer of the main men's professional golf tours in the United States and North America...

 player David Toms
David Toms
David Wayne Toms is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour. He has won a total of thirteen events on the PGA Tour including the 2001 PGA Championship...

. He graduated sixth in his high school class and made the all-state baseball team twice. In 1984, he was selected to play for the USA in the Junior Olympics
Junior olympics
Junior Olympics and Jr. Olympics can refer to any one of many different sporting events and organizations around the world dedicated to youth sporting activities.*Junior Olympic Gold, American national youth singles bowling tournament...

, in which the U.S. won a silver medal. He played outfield and pitched, winning one game. After graduation, Belle was offered many football and baseball scholarships, including one to the University of Notre Dame
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

; he was also offered an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy is an accredited college for the undergraduate education of officer candidates for the United States Air Force. Its campus is located immediately north of Colorado Springs in El Paso County, Colorado, United States...

. However, Belle decided to stay close to home, and accepted a baseball scholarship to Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...

.

College

Belle played college baseball at LSU
LSU Tigers baseball
The LSU baseball team represents Louisiana State University in NCAA Division I college baseball.Along with the other LSU athletic teams, the baseball team participates in the West division of the Southeastern Conference...

 from 1985–1987 where he made 1st team All-SEC
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 in 1986 and 1987 and played in 184 games, with 585 at bats, 194 hits, 30 doubles, 49 home runs, 172 runs batted in, 157 runs, a .670 slugging percentage, and a .332 batting average.

After college, he was drafted by the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

. While in the minor league system he was known as "Joey" (his childhood nickname) and was thought of as a top prospect, but high-risk due to his temper and excessive drinking. Belle underwent counseling and became known as "Albert." Umpire Durwood Merrill
Durwood Merrill
Edwin Durwood Merrill was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League for 23 seasons ....

, who wrote a book called You're Out, and You're Ugly, Too, tweaked Belle by calling him "Joey" long past the time when Belle was known by that name publicly.

Major League career

Belle was an intimidating presence at the plate; and well known for wearing an intense glare. He became the fourth player to have eight straight seasons of 30 home runs and 100 RBI, joining Babe Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

, Jimmie Foxx
Jimmie Foxx
James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....

, and Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...

 (a feat matched by Albert Pujols
Albert Pujols
José Alberto Pujols Alcántara , better known as Albert Pujols , is a Dominican-American professional baseball player, who is currently a free agent...

 in 2008). Alex Rodriguez has 12 straight. As a fielder, Belle had a powerful throwing arm, unsurprising given that he was a gifted pitcher in high school. His Range Factor by games played was consistently higher than the Major League Average Range Factor at that position. He was an accomplished base runner and base stealer, with a career high of 23 steals in 1993, and a surprising 17 steals in 1999 despite hip problems. Belle led the league three times in RBIs, three times in total bases, three times in extra-base hits, and twice in slugging. He was a five-time All-Star between 1993 and 1997.

Notably, Albert Belle's career highs in home runs, RBI, batting average, runs scored, and walks occurred in five separate seasons.

In 2006, the Hardball Times published a statistical comparison of Belle's career statistics with that of 60 of his current and former peers. The article ranked Belle in career "prime value," behind current Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner
Ralph Kiner
Ralph McPherran Kiner is an American former Major League Baseball player and has been an announcer for the New York Mets since the team's inception. Though injuries forced his retirement from active play after 10 seasons, Kiner's tremendous slugging outpaced nearly all of his National League...

 and presumed future inductee Frank Thomas
Frank Thomas (AL baseball player)
Frank Edward Thomas, Jr. , nicknamed "The Big Hurt", is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman....

.

In 1994, Belle lost the batting title to the New York Yankees
1994 New York Yankees season
The New York Yankees' 1994 season was the 92nd season for the Yankees. New York was managed by Buck Showalter and played at Yankee Stadium. The team finished with a record of 70-43 finishing games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles, having the best record in the American League and the second-best...

' outfielder Paul O'Neill, .359 to .357. Belle's post-season record was limited to two heavy-hitting appearances, in which only his batting average suffered: he hit .230/.405/.557 (batting average, on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...

 and slugging percentage, respectively) with six home runs and 14 RBIs in 61 at-bats.

In 1995, Belle became the first player in the history of the major leagues to hit 50 homers and 50 doubles in the same season; before Belle, the last player to reach as many as 40 in both categories had been Willie Stargell
Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...

 in 1973. The achievement was especially impressive because Belle only played 143 games in 1995 due to a season shortened by the previous year's players strike. The 40-40 mark has been surpassed since, most recently by Alfonso Soriano
Alfonso Soriano
Alfonso Guilleard Soriano is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Chicago Cubs....

 in 2006, but Belle's 50-50 combo remains unique.

His reputation, and more specifically his disdain of the media, cost him votes for the 1995 MVP Award. Belle finished second in the media voting to the Boston Red Sox
1995 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Red Sox finishing 1st in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 58 losses...

's Mo Vaughn
Mo Vaughn
Maurice Samuel 'Mo' Vaughn , nicknamed "The Hit Dog", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played from 1991 to 2003...

. This result occurred despite Belle's having led the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

 that season in runs scored, home runs, RBI, slugging percentage, and total bases, and despite his outpacing Vaughn head-to-head in every important offensive category except RBI (both men had 126); both players' teams reached the playoffs. This was in the middle of a three-year streak in which Albert Belle finished 3rd, 2nd, and 3rd for the American League MVP. Belle had two other top ten MVP finishes, in 1993 (7th) and 1998 (8th).

In the winter of 1996, Belle signed a 5-year, $55 million ($ today) deal with the Chicago White Sox
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...

 as a free agent. This contract made him the highest paid player in baseball for a brief period. Belle enjoyed two great seasons in Chicago, including a career-high 27-game hitting streak in May 1997. Belle came close to having another 50/50 season in 1998, with 49 home runs (a White Sox team record that still stands) and 48 doubles. He also drove in 152 runs to break Zeke Bonura
Zeke Bonura
Henry John Bonura was a first baseman in Major League Baseball. From through , he played for the Chicago White Sox , Washington Senators , New York Giants and Chicago Cubs . Bonura batted and threw right-handed...

's single-season franchise record of 138 in 1936 (to date, the RBI total also remains a White Sox single-season record). Additionally, when Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....

 ended his record consecutive game streak in September 1998, it was Belle who took over as the major leagues' active leader in the category.

Belle's White Sox contract had an unusual clause allowing him to demand that he would remain one of the three highest paid players in baseball. In October 1998, Belle invoked the clause, and when the White Sox declined to give him a raise, Belle immediately became a free agent. Belle again became the game's highest paid player, signing a five-year, $65 million ($ today) deal with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

. However, Belle ended his career just two seasons later, retiring at age 34 as a result of degenerative osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis also known as degenerative arthritis or degenerative joint disease, is a group of mechanical abnormalities involving degradation of joints, including articular cartilage and subchondral bone. Symptoms may include joint pain, tenderness, stiffness, locking, and sometimes an effusion...

 in his hip. However, he was kept on Baltimore's active 40-man roster for the next three years, as a condition of the insurance policy which largely reimbursed the Orioles for the remainder of Belle's contract.

Albert Belle homered in the final at-bat of his major-league career at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...

 on October 1, 2000.

Controversy

Belle was involved in several controversial incidents during his baseball career. In 1986, he went after a heckler in the stands who was shouting racist insults at him; he was suspended while his team played in the College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...

. In 1991, he threw a baseball into the stands, where it struck a fan who had taunted him by yelling, "Keg party at my house, Joey," a reference both to Belle's prior nickname and his stints in alcohol rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...

. He was suspended in 1994 for using a corked bat
Corked bat
In baseball, a corked bat is a specially modified baseball bat that has been filled with cork or other lighter, less dense substances to make the bat lighter without losing much power. A lighter bat gives a hitter a quicker swing and may improve the hitter's timing...

 and received further disdain for sending teammate
1994 Bat Burglary
The 1994 Cleveland Indians corked bat incident took place on July 15, 1994 at Comiskey Park in Chicago during a major league baseball game. In the first inning of the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox, White Sox manager Gene Lamont was tipped off that Indians batter...

 Jason Grimsley
Jason Grimsley
Jason Alan Grimsley is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He made his debut on September 8, , and pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Anaheim Angels, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Baltimore Orioles, and most recently, the Arizona Diamondbacks.-Major league...

 through the building's ceiling panel to break into the locked umpire dressing room to retrieve his corked bat and substitute it with another teammate's bat. This resulted in a seven game suspension for Belle. He was fined in 1996 for knocking down Brewers
1996 Milwaukee Brewers season
The 1996 Milwaukee Brewers season involved the Brewers finishing third in the American League Central with a record of 80 wins and 82 losses.-Notable transactions:...

 infielder Fernando Viña
Fernando Viña
Fernando Viña is a retired Cuban-American Major League Baseball second baseman and current MLB analyst for Oakland Athletics...

, who had blocked his way on the basepaths. He also had unpleasant interactions with the public. He also chased down rowdy trick-or-treating vandals who were celebrating Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...

 by throwing eggs at his home; Belle ended up hitting one of the vandals with his car.

Sports reporters resented Belle's refusal to grant interviews before a game. A profane outburst directed at a group of reporters in his team's dugout, including NBC Sports personality Hannah Storm
Hannah Storm
Hannah Storm is an American television sports journalist, serving as co-anchor of ESPN's SportsCenter Monday–Thursday mornings, and is also host of the NBA Countdown pregame show on ABC as part of the network's NBA Sunday game coverage.-Early life and career:Storm was born in Oak Park, Illinois,...

, was widely reported during the 1995 World Series
1995 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 21, 1995 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta ace Greg Maddux pitched a two-hit complete game victory in his first World Series appearance ....

. Later, Belle was unrepentant: "The Indians wanted me to issue a statement of regret when the fine was announced, but I told them to take it out. I apologize for nothing."

Eventually, Belle routinely refused to speak with the media. "I don't get excited talking about myself", he explained. "Guys such as Sandy Koufax
Sandy Koufax
Sanford "Sandy" Koufax is a former left-handed baseball pitcher who played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers...

, Joe DiMaggio
Joe DiMaggio
Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...

, and Steve Carlton
Steve Carlton
Steven Norman Carlton , nicknamed "Lefty", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. He pitched from 1965-1988 for six different teams in his career, but it is his time with the Philadelphia Phillies where he received his greatest acclaim as a professional and won four Cy Young Awards...

 did not interview, and it was no big deal. They were quiet. I am also quiet. I just want to concentrate on baseball. Why does everyone want to hear me talk, anyway?" Belle rarely even conducted interviews regarding his various charitable donations and scholarships that might have burnished his sour image.

But the media did not ignore Belle. ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

's Buster Olney
Buster Olney
Robert Stanbury "Buster" Olney III is a columnist for ESPN: The Magazine, ESPN.com, and covered the New York Giants and New York Yankees for The New York Times. He is also a regular analyst for the ESPN's Baseball Tonight...

 would write about Belle's outbursts while a Cleveland Indian:
It was a taken in baseball circles that Albert Belle was nuts... The Indians billed him $10,000 a year for the damage he caused in clubhouses on the road and at home, and tolerated his behavior only because he was an awesome slugger... He slurped coffee constantly and seemed to be on a perpetual caffeinated frenzy. Few escaped his wrath: on some days he would destroy the postgame buffet...launching plates into the shower... after one poor at-bat against Boston, he retreated to the visitor's clubhouse and took a bat to teammate Kenny Lofton's boombox. Belle preferred to have the clubhouse cold, below 60 degrees, and when one chilly teammate turned up the heat, Belle walked over, turned down the thermostat, and smashed it with his bat. His nickname, thereafter, was "Mr. Freeze."


In 2001, following Belle's retirement, the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....

 columnist Bill Madden
Bill Madden (sportswriter)
Bill Madden is an American sportswriter for the New York Daily News. A member of the Baseball Writers Association of America, he has served on the Historical Overview Committee of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, 2007 and 2008, helping to select candidates for the final ballots presented to the...

 wrote:
"Sorry, there'll be no words of sympathy here for Albert Belle. He was a surly jerk before he got hurt and now he's a hurt surly jerk....He was no credit to the game. Belle's boorish behavior should be remembered by every member of the Baseball Writers' Association when it comes time to consider him for the Hall of Fame."


Responding to this, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

 sportswriter Robert Lipsyte
Robert Lipsyte
Robert Lipsyte is an American sports journalist and author. Lipsyte is a member of the Board of Contributors for USA Todays Forum Page, part of the newspaper’s Opinion section.-Personal background:...

 observed:
"Madden is basically saying, 'He was not nice to me, so let's screw him.' Sportswriters anoint heroes in basically the same way you have crushes in junior high school... you've got someone like Albert Belle, who is somehow basically ungrateful for this enormous opportunity to play this game. If he's going to appear to us as a surly asshole, then we'll cover him that way. And then, of course, he's not gonna talk to us anymore—it's self-fulfilling."


When Belle did choose to communicate with fans, it was generally via unfiltered forums such as his website, or in columns for the Baltimore Sun and Baltimore Press.

In Belle's first year of Hall of Fame eligibility (2006), he garnered only 7.7% of the baseball writers' votes—missing election by an extremely wide margin. But Belle's vote total was high enough to keep his name on the ballot for the following year. In 2007, however, Belle only garnered 19 votes (3.5%) and dropped off the ballot.

In February 2006, Belle was arrested on suspicion of stalking a woman who was identified in court as a former licensed escort. He was again arrested in charges related to the same case on May 17, 2006. On July 27, 2006, Belle pleaded guilty to one count of stalking and he was sentenced on August 24 to 90 days in jail and five years supervised probation. Belle had attached a GPS tracking device onto her car and obtained her phone records. Belle issued an apology to the woman stating, "I have made mistakes in my life, but I have admitted my mistakes and learned from them to be a better person."

Awards and accomplishments

College (LSU):
  • 1st team All-SEC (1986, 1987)
  • South 1 Regional Tournament MVP (1986)
  • 2nd team All-America (1986)
  • 3rd team All-America (1987)

Major League Baseball (Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles):
  • AL home run leader (1995)
  • AL RBI leader (1993, 1995-tied with Mo Vaughn, 1996)
  • AL doubles leader (1995-tied with Edgar Martínez)
  • AL runs leader (1995-tie with Edgar Martínez)
  • AL slugging percentage leader (1995, 1998)
  • AL outfield assist leader (RF) (1999-tie)
  • Named to Silver Slugger team (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998)
  • All-Star (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
  • First player to ever hit 50 HR and 50 Doubles (1995)
  • The Sporting News Player of the Year (1995)
  • Baseball Digest Player of the Year (1995)
  • Led major leagues in the 1990s with 1,099 RBI
  • Led major leagues in extra base hits in the 1990s with 711
  • 4th player ever to have 8 straight seasons with 30 HR and 100 RBI
  • Inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (June 2005)

See also


External links

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