Like politics, big league baseball can make for strange bedfellows.
White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, who has been speaking of the necessity of “fan-friendly” ballplayers and simultaneously advocating a drag on player salaries, has pulled a double reverse if the Sox and Cleveland slugger Albert Belle agree to a $50 million contract–$10 million a year for five years.
If so, it would be the biggest contract in baseball history.
“I never comment on rumors or speculation,” Reinsdorf said Monday from his winter home in Phoenix. “If and when we do, we’ll announce it.”
There were indications the White Sox were planning a press conference at Comiskey Park Tuesday, presumably to reveal the controversial Belle, a free agent, is coming to the South Side. But in mid-afternoon Monday, Scott Reifert, a club spokesman, said he didn’t know anything about it.
If he’s coming, Belle would bat fourth, behind Frank Thomas, and give the Sox the strongest 1-2 punch in recent diamond history, on a par with Mays-McCovey, Ruth-Gehrig, Maris-Mantle and Barry Bonds-Matt Williams.
Between them, Thomas and Belle could hit 100 home runs and drive in 250 runs. Conceivably, they could lead the Sox to their first pennant since 1959. Of course, attendance at Comiskey Park would increase.
A White Sox executive, who has Reinsdorf’s ear–sometimes both of them–explained it this way:
“Jerry’s trying to compete. He wants to bring the fans back and he wants a winner. He’s tired of finishing second.”
But another source familiar with the situation insisted it’s not a done deal and the Florida Marlins may sign Belle.
“I wouldn’t run too hard with Albert signing with Chicago,” he said. “The Marlins are still in the picture.”
The Cleveland club, which has employed Belle during his entire professional career, dropped out last Saturday. The Indians had offered Belle $40 million for five years but withdrew the offer after they had made a deal for San Francisco slugger Williams.
“Once they got Williams, there was no way Albert would come back to Cleveland,” said a friend of Belle’s, who asked not to be identified.
Belle has been among the most disliked players of his time–by both fans and teammates–and has a long record of, to put it mildly, unsportsmanlike conduct. He was suspended for two days last season and also fined $50,000, the largest single player plaster in history.
More Top Picks Best Tools
He has hit a photographer with a thrown ball, hurled abusive language at a female television reporter and was involved in a big imbroglio in Texas when a fan retrieved one of his home runs. Before that, he was accused of corking his bat during a 1994 series against the White Sox.
At the time of the corked-bat incident, Belle expressed considerable dislike not only for the White Sox management but also for many of the Sox players who were convinced he was cheating.
But time and money heals all wounds. So too do 48 home runs and 148 runs batted in, the principal numbers Belle compiled with the Indians last season.
If he can pry $10 million a year from the White Sox, Belle would come close to doubling his 1996 compensation of $5.65 million. He also would have the distinction of becoming a footnote in baseball history: the first $10 million player.
A half-dozen news agencies on Monday reported Belle’s signing as a certainty. Maybe so. But I’m not so sure. The White Sox have had a long history of pursuing high-priced free agents but always seem to stumble at the finish line. Also, it’s difficult to believe Reinsdorf would risk enraging his fellow owners.