January 16, 2006
Venting at Belle
Teddy Greenstein of the Chicago Tribune reminds us of Albert Belle's shortcomings:
So why do I still believe that Albert Belle got way more Hall of Fame support than he deserved?
Oh, yeah. Because I covered him in 1998 when he played for the White Sox.
I saw him curse at reporters. Saw him react callously after accidentally flinging a bat into the stands that bloodied the face of a 10-year-old girl. Saw him pile up meaningless stats before sparse crowds. Saw his teammates and coaches revile him.
Albert Belle was, and I'm guessing still is, a lowlife.
With 40 votes in his first year, I don't think there's much of a chance to Albert getting in any time soon.
If the mark of a hall-of-famer is class, then we need to do some blood letting. If it is dominance at a position during an era, Albert Belle belongs more that many already in.
I wonder how Greenstein feels about Ted Williams enshrinement in Cooperstown? His laundry list of Albert Belle's shortcomings is a very close match to Teddy Ballgame's. If the Hall only admitted nice guys, it would be a hell of a lot smaller. Should we kick Kirby Puckett out of the Hall of Fame? He had a short career, but his peak value was high and everyone thought he was a prince of a guy. Turns out he's a nasty piece of business and his numbers pale compared to Belle's.
I think Belle might fall just a bit short on the numbers, mostly because he didn't get to play enough years. But, of course, it doesn't seem like many writers at all are doing the analysis, just being spiteful. Sure, he's an ass, but so was Ty Cobb. Walter Johnson, to name another ancient name, isn't in the Hall because he was a gentleman.
Bill Mazeroski, however, is in the Hall partly because of how nice a guy he was and how many buddies he's got on the Vet Committee. So we see how well that works out.
Just like I say to Mattingly fans who are appalled at Puckett's inclusion, the guy is half-blind and probably can't fit through the doorway of the Hall. Karma's paid him back at least a little.
Two words.
Ty Cobb.
Belle's stats open the door for him, end of story.
Albert in the Hall?........hmmm......sigh*...I think JP has a tremendous point....folks....I think we are in a very gray zone these days about who we deem Hall worthy.....like it or not, there are some very undesireable players that are going to get alot of concideration in the near future. let's get back to a more simpler time and finally put GIL HODGES in the Hall.
Albert Belle may be a jerk, but he doesn't strike me as a bigger jerk than a lot of other HOFers - we just know more about him right now because modern sportswriters aren't as big on hagiographies as their predecessors. We had to wait until after Cobb's death to discover just how much of an asshole he really was, and Rogers Hornsby wore out his welcome with a lot of clubs without much press coverage of his surly prima-donna demeanor. DiMaggio was far from the faultless exemplar he was portrayed as being in the media, and we all know now about the Babe.
Belle needs to be judged by his on-field accomplishments, which included an amazing run for a Cleveland team that went to the WS a couple of times. His numbers may not be sufficient for a HOFer, but let's not drag that tired old "character" argument in again - if we applied a real character test, we'd not only elect not a single new member to the Hall, but we'd have to throw out most of the existing membership.