Athlete Hall Of Shame
Where we remind you of the events the athletes would love to forget!
Albert Belle
Inducted August 2007
Photo From: flickr.com
Former outfielder and designated hitter in ‘90s for the Cleveland Indians (see Cleveland Indians Ink Magazine, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles. Went to 1995 World Series with Indians (lost). Named to 5 consecutive All-Star games. Won five Silver Slugger Awards. Finished in the top 10 of the MVP vote five times and top 3 of the MVP vote three times. Led AL in home runs (once), RBIs (3 times), doubles (once), total bases (3 times), OPS (once), and extra-base hits (3 times).
Shameful Moments:
-Known for his profane outburst to the media and refusal to do interviews
-Went after a heckler in the stands who was shouting racist insults at him in 1986 while still in college at LSU (suspended while LSU played in the College World Series)
-Threw a ball at a heckler while still recovering from alcohol during a 2-1 loss to the California Angels on May 11, 1991, hitting the fan in the chest (then AL president Bobby Brown suspended Belle for one week and ordered him to pay a week’s salary to a charity of Belle’s choice)
-Sent to minors by the Indians on June 7, 1991 for failing to run hard on a double play grounder that led to a 2-1 loss to the White Sox
-Used a corked bat against the White Sox while with the Indians on July 14, 1994 and was suspended for 10 days (later reduced to 7 days with a $7000 fine after Belle dropped the appeal)
-Threw a ball during warm-ups that hit photographer Tony Tomsic on April 6, 1996 after Belle told Tomsic not to take his picture (Belle claimed it was an accident, although it was the 2nd throw near Tomsic - the league investigated and Tomsic filed a lawsuit)
-Infamously blasted Milwaukee Brewers 2B Fernando Vina during the 8th inning while with the Indians on May 31, 1996 when Vina was in the baseline trying to make a tag on Belle (the benches cleared after the hit and again in the 9th inning after both teams swapped bean balls - Belle punched Milwaukee P Steve Sparks in the second brawl and would received a 5-game suspension)
-Arrested on February 16, 2006 for failing to show up for questioning in a felony stalking case
-Arrested again on May 18, 2006 on suspicion of stalking his ex-girlfriend (there was evidence that the woman recorded phone calls where Belle admitted to placing a tracking device on her car and told her he’d kill her if she told anyone)
-Pleaded guilty to one count of stalking on July 27, 2006 and was later sentenced to 90 days in jail and five years of supervised probation
-Chased down vandals on Halloween one year after they threw eggs at his house and wound up bumping one of the vandals with his car
-ESPN’s Buster Olney reported that the Indians billed Belle $10,000 a year for damage he would cause in the clubhouse at home and away games