Albert Belle is now 1 for 2 in the courtroom of corked bats and, pure of heart, was back in the Cleveland lineup Wednesday as the Indians tried for their second successive victory against the Boston Red Sox in the first round of the American League Division Series.
Belle, who led both leagues with 50 home runs during the regular season, was declared innocent in his second “batgate” incident prompted by Red Sox manager Kevin Kennedy. Immediately after Belle hit an 11th-inning, game-tying home run in Tuesday night’s playoff opener, Kennedy asked plate umpire Tim Welke to confiscate and impound the bat for inspection.
The White Sox, a year ago July 19 at Comiskey Park, made an identical accusation. Following a comparatively lengthy and bizarre investigation, Dr. Bobby Brown, then the American League president, suspended Belle for 10 days, a sentence later reduced to seven.
By coincidence, Brown is at this series representing the league office. And at 3 a.m. Wednesday, he watched as a Cleveland groundskeeper sawed off the top of Belle’s bat. The bat was clean, no indication of cork or any foreign substance.
“Mr. Belle is innocent of any wrongdoing,” Brown announced at a news conference before Wednesday’s second game.
Brown was asked how this compared with the Chicago trial when Belle was found guilty as charged.
“In the previous episode,” Brown recalled, “we went through a fairly lengthy process of bats disappearing, bats reappearing, bats being exchanged.”
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Brown was referring to the fact that Belle’s bat was removed from the umpires’ dressing room, which had been locked after the bat had been deposited there for safekeeping. The White Sox bat police insisted that an undersized Cleveland clubhouse attendant, in a midnight raid, had dropped through a hole in the ceiling and completed the theft with the knowledge the bat was corked.
Two days of mystery followed. Finally, a bat was returned to Brown who gave it the old fish-eye and said, “This is it. It’s the original.” The blunderbuss was X-rayed, then split in half, not across, but from top to bottom. A chunk of cork a half-inch thick and four to five inches long was extracted from the barrel.
Once a cheater, more than likely, he’ll cheat again. And, of course, he will deny or ignore previous convictions. So it wasn’t surprising that Belle didn’t acknowledge his suspension when he responded to questions following Tuesday night’s marathon. It was the longest postseason game in time–5 hours 1 minute, not counting two rain delays totaling 62 minutes–and innings, 13.
Belle has been openly hostile to sportswriters, local and national. He has shoved and elbowed them out of his path when they have been in the Indians’ clubhouse. His surprise appearance may have been a sudden attempt for support in the Most Valuable Player balloting. What he may not know is that the deadline was midnight Sunday.
Instead of confessing to his Chicago felony, in baseball a capital offense, Belle tried to put the monkey on Brown’s back, as if he had been the guilty party.
When asked what happened to the Chicago bat, Belle replied:
“He split the bat in two pieces and he knows what he can do with those two pieces.”
Belle insisted that Kennedy, by snatching his bat away, was making “a desperate effort to throw a wrench into our season. I don’t need to use corked bats. I have muscles.
“But it does have an advantage. It fires our team up. Just look at our winning percentage since they took away my bat in Chicago last year. And look what happened to the White Sox and how they went down the tubes. It’s been a big mental advantage for us.”
Then reaching into the MVP basket, Belle concluded: “Look at the numbers. They speak for themselves.”
Besides his 50 home runs, Belle tied for the RBI lead at 126 with Boston’s Mo Vaughn, tied Seattle’s Edgar Martinez for the lead in doubles with 52, and led in total bases and slugging percentage (.690). In the 166 games since Belle’s bat was chopped into firewood at Comiskey Park, he has hit 61 home runs.
Boston General Manager Dan Duquette and field manager Kennedy emphasized that confiscating Belle’s bludgeon was premeditated.
“We had information from some of our people it was worth looking into,” Duquette said.
“Baseball is a small-circle fraternity,” Kennedy observed. “Everyone talks. And there has been a history of some tampering with his bats. We want to be sure we’re competing on a level playing field.
“The guy has had a great year and he’s helped put his club where it is. But there was some information given to us and I did what I felt I had to do as a manager. I don’t think I am tarnishing his ability and what he has done. He’s proven he’s a great hitter.”
Belle, using a new bat from his ample arsenal, wasn’t a factor in Wednesday’s 4-0 Cleveland victory. He singled, popped up and drew two walks.
The Red Sox, down 2-0 in the best-of-5 series, aren’t getting any production from Mo Vaughn and Jose Canseco, their Nos. 3 and 4 hitters. Together, they are 0 for 20.