Albert Belle
Controversies
In 1990, the Indians sent Belle to the
Cleveland Clinic for two months for
alcoholism rehabilitation.
[1]
Belle was suspended in 1994 for using a
corked bat, resulting in a seven-game suspension. The incident gained further notoriety for his
sending teammate Jason Grimsley through the building's ceiling panel to break into the locked umpires' dressing room to replace his corked bat with a teammate's bat. The revelation of Belle's use of corked bats was later given more emphasis when Cleveland teammate
Omar Vizquel wrote in his 2002 autobiography that it would be naive to suggest otherwise, and that "all of Albert's bats were corked."
[13]
Belle was fined in 1996 for knocking down
Brewers infielder
Fernando Viña, who had blocked his way between bases.
[14]
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, was widely reported during the
1995 World Series. He was unrepentant afterward: "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."
[15]
Eventually, Belle routinely refused to speak with the media. "I don't get excited talking about myself", he explained. "Guys such as
Sandy Koufax,
Joe DiMaggio and
Steve Carlton 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?"
[16]
Buster Olney wrote about his outbursts as a member of the
Cleveland Indians:
It was taken as fact in baseball circles that Albert Belle was nuts.... He slurped coffee constantly and seemed to be in a perpetual caffeinated frenzy. Few escaped his wrath: on some days he would destroy the postgame buffet ... launching plates into the shower, and after one poor at-bat against Boston, he retreated to the visitors' 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." ... 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....
[17]
In 2001, following his retirement, the
New York Daily News' columnist
Bill Madden 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.
[18]
In his 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.
[19] But his vote total was high enough to keep his name on the ballot for the following year. In 2007, however, he garnered only 19 votes (3.5%).
In retirement, Belle had his first encounter with the Cleveland Indians since leaving the club in 1996, during their 2012 spring training in
Goodyear, Arizona and was joined by former teammates Kenny Lofton,
Sandy Alomar Jr., and
Carlos Baerga.
[14] In spite of this, Belle declined both to attend the 20th anniversary celebration of the 1995 World Series team in 2015 and the 2016 ceremony when he was inducted into the Indians team Hall of Fame.
[20]
Legal troubles[edit]
In October 1995, Belle's house in
Euclid, Ohio was
egged by teenagers after he turned away
trick-or-treaters on
Halloween. Belle chased one of the trick-or-treaters in his car.
[21] Belle was fined $100 for reckless operation of a vehicle. The guardian of the teenager later sued Belle for $850,000 contending that Belle's car had bumped into the teenager.
[22] The lawsuit was settled in 1997.
[23]
In 2006, Belle was sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years' probation after he admitted to stalking his former girlfriend.
[24]
On March 25, 2018, Belle was arrested in
Scottsdale, Arizona and charged with
indecent exposure and
DUI.
[24] All charges were dismissed the following month.
[25]
en.wikipedia.org
