by Hart was wise to be excited for the future with Belle and his teammates. They had the young nucleus of Lofton, Baerga, Alomar, Sorrento and Belle, with two young guns in Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez just ready to makes waves at the big-league level.
As a part time starter in 1993, playing in only 43 games, Thome belted 7 homeruns and drove in 22 RBI. Now that Mark Lewis was gone, the third base spot was all Thomes and he would begin his own Hall of Fame career in 1994 as well.
Joining Thome full time on the big-league roster was Manny Ramirez as well. Two young mashers that would be chomping at the bit to hit behind Belle.
Belle was having one masterful season after another, and in the 1994 off season John Hart backed up his bark by finally getting him the protection in the fifth spot he sorely needed.
The 1994 off season saw the additions of Omar Vizquel by trade, and Dennis Martinez by signing, both huge, but none bigger than the signing of Eddie Murray to hit fifth and protect Belle.
Finally opposing pitchers would have but no choice than to throw to Belle because with Murray on deck, they were going from the frying pan to the fire. Murray came to Cleveland with 17 years of Big-League experience at the time and was the perfect fit to bat behind Belle.
Murray was only a couple hundred hits away from joining the 3,000-hit club, and before everything was said and done in his remarkable career, Murray would finish with 504 home runs.
With Murray, Martinez and golden glove shortstop Vizquel now on the roster. Combined with Lofton, Belle, Sorrento and Baerga coming of age and Jim Thome and Manny Ramirez getting ready to pop off, the 1994 Indians were absolutely loaded! Albert Belle was ready to lead them into an new ball park, and a new era!
Thank you for reading part two. The third and final part will come out tomorrow evening. Be sure to click here for more.
