Cleveland’s Greatest Villain Albert Belle: Part 3 of 3

It came as a shock to fans that Belle would leave town after the fans stuck by him throughout all of his turmoil.  Belle was booed loudly that year upon his return to Jacobs Field later that season as he returned to play with the White Sox.

The fans greeted him by dropping fake money from the stands while Belle promptly reacted by giving them the middle finger.  His reaction at the All Star Game held in Cleveland later that summer wasn’t much better.

Albert Belle rewarded the White Sox faith in him by hitting for a .274 batting average while belting 30 homeruns and driving in 116 RBI.  Despite his offensive power numbers, he could not help lead Chicago back to the playoffs.

He continued to look impressive in 1998 when he hit 49 homeruns and drove in 152 RBI.  It simply was not enough to get the White Sox over the hump.

His 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 he invoked the clause, and when the White Sox declined to give him a raise, he immediately became a free agent.

He then signed with the Baltimore Orioles and became the game’s highest paid player, signing a five-year, $65 million deal.

Belle continued to crush the ball with Baltimore, hitting 79 more homeruns in his two seasons there while driving in 268 RBI.  However after just two seasons in Baltimore, his career came to an end as he was forced into retirement at age 34 by degenerative hip osteoarthritis.  He did homer in his final major league at bat.

It was a sad end to a great career.  His hip problems have followed him ever since.  Many feel that if he would have played even five more years that he would have achieved the 500 homerun mark as he was at 381 at the time of his early retirement.

He was one of the first true bad guys to ever wear a Cleveland Indians uniform, but his talent covered a lot of that up.  Fans will always wonder “What if” when it comes to Belle, as they still feel to this very day that he was one of the greatest hitters to ever grace Cleveland.