Belle’s Bat Speaks Loud and Clear

The post-game scene around the locker of Indians slugger Albert Belle was typical. Edgy, intimidated reporters looking to get a quote from arguably baseball’s best hitter.

Belle had just given the Indians a 4-1 victory with a tie-breaking, ninth-inning home run over the center-field fence off baseball’s best reliever this season, the Angels’ Troy Percival. But Belle had his head down as he finished dressing.

As two reporters approached Belle’s locker, Cleveland pitchers Dennis Martinez and Charles Nagy lowered their heads and tried to make light of the situation.

Are you enjoying this, a reporter asked Martinez?

“Not really,” Martinez said. “But you might as well try. You never know. It’s like asking out a girl. She might say yes sometime. Today might be your day.”

As expected, it wasn’t the reporters’ day to win the Albert Belle lottery. After a few shrugs and a couple of mumbled words from Belle, the two reporters walked away disappointed, but pleased they had made the effort.

Martinez said Percival should feel the same way about his confrontation with Belle--disappointed, but pleased with the effort. If Martinez had a fastball like Percival’s, he said he would have thrown Belle an 0-2 too.

“You have to go with your best pitch,” he said. “This time, he hits a home run. The next time you might strike him out with the same pitch.”

Belle’s 410-foot home run was his 200th in the last five seasons, two of those seasons shortened by a strike. His 14th homer gave him 34 RBIs, extended his hitting streak to 14 games and raised his average to .343.

Jim Thome, who followed Belle’s homer with one over the left-field fence, shook his head in amazement in describing Belle.

“Albert’s a winner,” Thome said. “I’m going to take an Albert Belle to war with me any time. He gets the job done. That’s why he’s one of the best hitters in baseball, if not the best hitter in baseball.”

Indians Manager Mike Hargrove has seen Belle win games with one swing, but said he is continually in awe of Belle’s ability to hit.

“I haven’t seen a better hitter than Albert in a long, long time,” he said.

Indian first base coach Dave Nelson said he hasn’t seen Belle that pumped up after a home run in a long time.

“He hurt my shoulder on the way by,” Nelson said. “He about took my arm off.

Though Belle was down in the count, Nelson sensed Belle was not down for the count.

“The first pitch, he was right on it and and he fouled it back,” Nelson said. “The guy kept throwing him fastballs. I thought maybe he’d throw him a slider. Albert was actually setting up to go the other way because he thought [Percival] would come inside. But he left it out over the plate and Albert got it.”

Belle might have interpreted his at-bat against Percival differently than Nelson, but Sunday night was not the night to find out.

It was a night to watch a great hitter make the league’s best reliever look like just another pitcher. And for reporters, that would have to be enough.