The 2015 Hall of Fame inductees will be announced on January 6th and will inevitably be the topic of heated debate for weeks after. This will be the first in a series of posts making the argument for a number of former Indians’ hall of fame candidacy. Albert Belle is no longer eligible to be elected into the Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writer’s Association of America (“BBWAA”) and hasn’t been since 2007 when he failed to receive the requisite 5% of the vote. However, ignoring the balloting formalities and politics that are involved in the selection of those who the BBWAA believe are Hall of Fame worthy, this series will look at whether these players deserve to be enshrined in Cooperstown, regardless of what the writers think.
The BBWAA controls who gets voted into the Hall of Fame, which is all you need to know about why Belle did not receive more than 5% of the vote on the 2007 Hall of Fame ballot. It is well documented how rude Belle was to the media so there is no need to go into anymore detail here. Suffice it say that if you Google “Albert Belle” the fourth article listed is a Deadspin article titled, “Albert Belle is Still a Glorious Asshole.” It’s truly unfortunate that Belle will most likely be remembered as an asshole rather than the fear-inspiring slugger that Indians fans remember him as.
For Belle’s career he had a triple slash of .295/.369/.564 and his career OPS of .933 is good for 32nd all-time and is higher than Hall of Famers Hank Aaron, Harry Heilmann, as well as the Tribe’s own Earl Averill and Tris Speaker. Citing a player’s OPS when comparing him against players already inducted into the Hall of Fame has its shortcomings, particularly if that player played during the offensive-minded steroid era. That being said, Albert Belle has a career OPS+ of 144, which is adjusted for the era in which the player played. His 144 OPS+ is 47th all-time, and ranks him ahead of notable sluggers and members of the 500 Home Run Club, Harmon Killebrew and Eddie Matthews. That 144 OPS+ rating places him 8th among Hall of Fame eligible left fielders who played at least 10 years. His .564 career slugging percentage is 3rd all-time among Hall of Fame eligible left fielders behind only Barry Bonds and Ted Williams (though he will fall to 4th when Manny Ramirez becomes hall eligible).
Home runs have long been one of biggest stats that baseball writers rely on when evaluating a slugger’s hall of fame worthiness. During his career, Belle hit 381 home runs and is a category Belle seems to fall short in, keeping in mind that he played in the heart of the steroid era when many of his fellow players would easily surpass the 500 home run mark. While Belle’s 381 career home runs seem rather pedestrian compared to others, it is important to examine this in the context of Belle’s career. Belle made his debut in 1989 and retired after the 2000 season, officially playing twelve seasons. However, he only played in 71 games in the 1989 and 1990 seasons, essentially leaving him with ten full seasons of work, and even less than that when you take into account the strike shortened seasons of 1994 and 1995. Over his career, he average 40 home runs per 162 games played, putting him ahead of all-time greats like Jimmie Foxx, Ken Griffey Jr., Ted Williams and Hank Aaron. Had Belle played longer, that number would have likely dipped below 40 due to natural regression because of his age, but if Belle had not developed his career ending hip injury and regressed at a normal rate he would have had a great chance at reaching 500 home runs.
RBI are also heavily relied upon in the selection process. Albert accumulated 1,239 total RBI during his career, placing him just 136th all-time, again not very impressive. But if you look closely, you’ll see that Belle was the best run producer of his era. His 1,099 RBI in the 1990’s led the major leagues over the decade and he led the American League individually in RBI in 1993, 1995 and 1996. He had nine straight seasons of 100+ RBI and was only the sixth player to ever accomplish that feat. He would have had ten straight seasons of 100+ RBI but he fell five RBI short in 1991.
Awards are another big thing baseball writers like to look at when selecting players, and unfortunately Belle was never able to take home an MVP award, although he deserved at least one. Belle finished in the top three of the MVP voting three separate times and in the top ten five times. As many Tribe fans know, he was royally screwed out of the 1995 MVP award. In that memorable 1995 season Belle hit .317/.401/.690 with 50 home runs and 126 RBI. Belle lead the league in six major offensive categories that season including home runs, doubles, RBI, runs, slugging percentage, and total bases. His 52 doubles and 50 home runs in one season remains a feat that has never been duplicated. Belle also won five Silver Slugger awards and was a five time All-Star selection.
Albert Belle will likely never be inducted into the Hall of Fame and it’s a shame. Albert’s poor relationship with writers essentially ensured he’d never make the hall, while his temper and off the field antics did not help either. But the fact that Albert may have been an asshole should not be the reason for keeping out a player who is clearly worthy. Ty Cobb is viewed by many to be one of the greatest baseball players of all-time and much is written about Cobb’s accolades and achievements, while it often goes overlooked that Cobb once stabbed a black nightwatchman and on another occasion jumped into the stands and beat a heckler who had no hands. The writers have elected numerous players who were less than stellar human beings because they were great baseball players and Albert should have received the same treatment. The bottom line is that Albert Belle was one of the most feared hitters of his era and is one of the best hitting left fielders to ever play the game and for these reasons he deserves to be a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame.
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