Afternoon Baseball

Albert Belle...Original post and complete player list
We dismissed the pretenders and spelled out the contenders. Here, we analyze each with a mix of stats and baseball POV from a dedicated fan.

Albert Belle, OF, Cleveland (1989-1996), Chicago (AL) (1997-1998), Baltimore (1999-2000).
This year: No.
Deserving: Maybe.
Will writers think he's deserving?: Not a chance.
Stay on ballot: Yes.
Veteran's Committee: Probably not, but you never know.

Belle is an odd case, because he had his career ended by a terrible injury (degenerative hip), yet no one feels sorry for him. He also only played 10 full seasons, which goes against a guy generally (Ralph Kiner being an exception) unless there's extenuating circumstances (Addie Joss's fatal illness, Hank Greenberg's WWII service being examples). The arc of Belle's career, if not his actual numbers, is much like Bob Meusel, a great part of the Ruth-era Yanks and a feared power hitter in his day, but nonetheless not a HOFer. Meusel pops up later on, by the way.
Belle, who's only 39 by the way, did have remarkable moments (a 50 HR-50 2B season, .357/.438/.714 with 36/101 in 106 games, two seasons of 145+ RBI), but inevitably suffers by comparision to the era he played in.
He won one HR title and 3 RBI crowns, but his best overall season (1994) was a strike year, and his 1998 monster campaign of .328, 48 HR, 48 2B, 152 RBI, league-bests with a 171 OPS+, 162 runs created and 1.055 OPS, was overshadowed by not leading the league in a Triple Crown category and having the McGwire-Sosa duel.
Belle, however, was an extremely durable player before his bizarre injury, and if not a stellar fielder, made up for it at the plate. He's 17th all-time in slugging, 37th in OPS, but only 60th in adjusted OPS (a haunting category for nearly every 1990s player).
His HOF charts place him generally borderline, and his two most similar players (Carlos Delgado and Juan Gone) don't do much to budge him.
There's a legitimate argument that he was the best pure hitter of the 1990s. Whether you think that decade's accomplishments are legitimate, whether you think Belle would have produced after 33, and whether you hate Belle or not are all major factors in deciding his Hall credentials.

I think you can be correct by not inducting him, citing a short career. But you can't knock his stats, and if you leave him out, there's an awful lot of players from that era who won't belong either. Starting with Fred McGriff and Rafael Palmiero.

Labels: HOF