Jump to content

Mark Bellhorn

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 68.48.47.33 (talk) at 07:27, 6 September 2005 (changed dated information; rewrote 2004 postseason). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Template:Mlbplayer

Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23, 1974 in Weymouth, Massachusetts) is a second baseman who currently plays for the New York Yankees. Previously, Bellhorn has played with the Oakland Athletics (1997-98, 2000-01), Chicago Cubs (2002-03), Colorado Rockies (2003) and Boston Red Sox (2004-05). He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.

Profile

A player who will give you slightly above-average production offensively and defensively when given ample playing time, Bellhorn remains effective wherever he plays. Second base is probably his best position. He can also play third base, shortstop and first base, with the ability to play any outfield position as well.

He is considered to have one of the best eyes in baseball, clearly seeing pitches for what they are, leading to a significant number of base on balls. His overall speed is above average and he runs the bases intelligently.

Bellhorn is extremely underrated by the average baseball fan due to his low batting average and his high number of strikeouts. However, he usually gets on base at a very respectable clip. His defense isn't flashy, but he's certainly not going to hurt you in the field.

Career

Bellhorn broke in the majors with Oakland in 1997. That year he had a .228 batting average with six home runs and 19 runs batted in. Over the next three seasons with the Athletics he would see only limited playing time, batting .131 with one homer and five RBI.

In 2002, Bellhorn would go to the Cubs and hit .258 with 27 home runs and 56 RBI. On June 20, 2003 he was traded to the Rockies, and finished the year hitting .221 with two home runs and 26 RBI.

Bellhorn was sent to the Boston Red Sox in 2004. He procceded to have the best batting average of his career hitting .264 with 17 home runs and 82 RBI. Despite leading the league in strikeouts (177), Bellhorn was among the league leaders in walks (88, 3rd), pitches seen per at bat, batting average with runners in scoring position, and on base percentage (.373, first among AL second baseman).

2004 postseason

For the first seven postseason games of his career, Bellhorn had 2 hits in 25 at-bats (.080). But his resurgence started as he hit a three-run homer off Jon Lieber to power Boston to a 4-2 victory over the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS. He also homered in Game 7 in the Bronx for a key insurance run.

In the 2004 World Series, Boston won Game 1 thanks to Bellhorn's eighth-inning two-run home run to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11 to 9. In Game 2, he hit a two-run double to help the Sox pull away to a 4-1 lead in an eventual 6-2 victory. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series in a four game sweep of St. Louis.

In 14 post-season games, Bellhorn hit three doubles and three home runs with eight runs and eight RBI. He hit a low .191 batting average (9-for-44). Nevertheless, he provided a good offensive support in on base percentage (.397), slugging average (.447) and OPS (.844).

Milestone

  • Bellhorn became the first player in National League history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning at Wrigley Field. Chicago won 13–10 over the Brewers. Bellhorn also tied a team record with five RBI in the inning (August 29, 2002).
  • Bellhorn also became the first player to homer in three consecutive postseason games, as he homered in Games 6 and 7 of the ALCS, and clanged one off the right field foul pole so memorably in Game 1 of the World Series.

Trivia

  • His quiet demeanor, humble behavior, and scrappy play created a small but fiercely loyal fan-base for Bellhorn. Throughout Boston, people were once seen wearing "Who died and made you Bellhorn?" shirts. There is also another once-popular shirt, "Don't blame me, I voted for Bellhorn." The price on these shirts has been marked down severely, and the makers of these shirts (not authorized by the Major League Baseball Players Association) are taking a major-league financial hit.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mark_Bellhorn&oldid=22681702"