A Tribe Reborn by George Christian Pappas

Author:George Christian Pappas
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sports Publishing
Published: 2012-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

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1 Olin recorded 17 saves in the ’91 season and 29 in ’92.

Chapter Eighteen

THE CONTINUING SAGA OF ALBERT BELLE, PART II

Let’s try to find ten good things to say about Albert Belle:

10. So far as we know, he’s never killed anyone.

9. He is handsome, and built like a god.

8. He played every game.

7. He has never appeared on the Jerry Springer Show.

6. He was an underrated base runner who was rarely caught stealing.

5. He hasn’t been arrested in several years.

4. He is very bright.

3. He works hard.

2. He has never spoken favorably about Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or any other foreign madman.

1. The man could hit.

—Noted sabermetrician Bill James’ entry for Albert Belle in the top-100 left fielders, from The New Bill James Historical Abstract

Even as the new-and-improved Albert Belle continued to destroy opposing pitching, he remained prone to lashing out. It was known that he liked the clubhouse thermostat to chill below 60 degrees. Teammates started calling him “Mr. Freeze” because he smashed a thermostat after somebody turned up the heat. Other times, he victimized postgame meal spreads, sending dishes flying into the showers. On one occasion, still unsatisfied after a frustrating plate appearance against the Red Sox, he took a bat to Kenny Lofton’s boom box in the visitor’s clubhouse at Fenway Park.

There came a point when Dick Jacobs brought the slugger’s behavior to question during a budget meeting with Mike Hargrove, John Hart, Dan O’Dowd, and some assistants. The owner looked at the manager and asked, “Can this ball club win without Albert Belle?”

Hargrove thought that it was a pretty good question. If you put aside the off-the-field issues, Albert could flat-out hit.

“Mr. Jacobs,” he answered, “yes, we can win without him . . . but he makes it a whole lot easier.”

Hargrove knew that legitimate, contending teams always had that one hitter in the middle of their lineup who was a monster; and for the Indians, Albert Belle was that monster. He outwardly exuded it, too, projecting it at the other teams’ pitchers. He was always flexing—and did he ever have the muscles to be able to do that. Belle was a physical specimen; a guy built like a middle linebacker who started in left field.

“At the plate, he had that look of, ‘I’m getting ready to tear your throat out and s**t it down your windpipe,’” Hargrove said. Pitchers around the league learned to fear that look.

And Belle gave them good reason to be fearful. During his time in an Indians uniform, he charged mounds, confronted fans, yelled at media (the Hannah Storm incident) and blew off an invitation from Ted Williams to attend an event honoring baseball’s top hitters.1 He even got in his car and chased down teenagers who egged his house on Halloween after the ’95 World Series. Most people—the media, the fans, opposing teams—saw Belle for his explosive tantrums, as well as gargantuan home runs. However, what they didn’t see was how hard he worked. His competitive drive made him a

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