Belle stuns the Indians

Associated Press

GOODYEAR, Ariz.

The hair and beard are mostly gray. The scowl is gone, a smile in its place.

Albert Belle still casts a formidable shadow over the Cleveland Indians, and Tuesday the contentious slugger — who was once the most intimidating hitter in baseball — made a surprise visit to the team he left 16 years ago and had disconnected with completely.

Laughing easily, Belle leaned against a wall as the morning sun began to burn through above the Indians’ complex, and along with former teammates Kenny Lofton, Carlos Baerga, Sandy Alomar Jr. and manager Mike Hargrove, reminisced about those days in the when the Indians ruled the AL.

They talked about the comeback wins, about the time Belle famously looked at Boston’s bench and flexed his biceps after hitting a playoff homer, and about getting Cleveland back to the World Series after a 41-year wait.

For a few moments, it felt like 1995 again.

“I came to see the guys,” the 45-year-old Belle said. “It’s good to see them again.”

Shortly after arriving, Belle visited the clubhouse and was introduced to some of Cleveland’s young players who couldn’t wait to meet a player many of them had only known through TV highlights.

“He was my favorite hitter,” said closer Chris Perez, showing off a ball that Belle signed for him on the sweet spot. “Him and Frank Thomas.”

With Lofton and Baerga serving as escorts, Belle was then introduced to infielder Jason Donald, who did a perfect imitation of Belle’s batting stance he perfected while playing wiffle ball as a little kid.

“He thought it was a good one,” Donald said later. “He liked it. I wanted to meet him. He was such a good player and such a big part of this organization.”

Back outside, Belle posed for pictures with his former teammates and Hargrove.

“Murderer’s row,” Lofton yelled.

It was Baerga’s persistence and urging that convinced Belle to drive over from his home in Paradise Valley, where the man whose presence in the batter’s box once rattled pitchers nerves, is now a stay-at-home dad raising four daughters.

“Mr. Mom,” he said.

Funny thought, a domesticated Belle.

“I waited until I was done playing to get married and then settle down and start a family,” said Belle, forced to retired in 2001 because of a bad hip. “I don’t know how guys do it, have a family and try to play baseball, man. It’s tough. Facing [David] Cone and [Roger] Clemens was easy compared to being a dad. It seems like all the kids get tired and cranky at the same time.”

Just like their dad.

Cranky would be a polite way of describing Belle, who in his prime had few rivals — inside or outside the baselines.

Pursing his lips as he awaited the pitch, Belle could drive a baseball over the fence to all three fields. A five-time All-Star, he had his finest season in 1995, when he batted .317 and led the league with 50 homers, 52 doubles, 121 runs and 126 RBIs. He remains the only player in history to hit 50 doubles and homers in a season, and yet finished second to Boston’s Mo Vaughn in MVP voting that year.

If his career had not been cut short by injuries, it’s possible Belle would have made it to the Hall of Fame.