Mark Bellhorn

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Template:Infobox MLB player

Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23, 1974 in Weymouth, Massachusetts) is a second baseman who currently plays for the San Diego Padres. Previously, Bellhorn has played with the Oakland Athletics (1997-98, 2000-01), Chicago Cubs (2002-03), Colorado Rockies (2003), Boston Red Sox (2004-05), and New York Yankees (2005). He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.

Contents

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Profile

While he is primarily a second baseman, Bellhorn has also played third base, shortstop, first base and all outfield positions at some point in his career.

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Career

After playing college ball at Auburn University, 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.

In 2004, Bellhorn was signed by the Boston Red Sox to be a utility infielder. However, due to early injuries he became the teams everyday second baseman. He proceeded 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). In fact, nearly half of his 2004 plate appearances produced a strikeout, walk or home run.

With his shaggy hair and frequently unshaven face, Bellhorn was one of many members of the memorable-looking 2004 Red Sox team (including Johnny Damon, Pedro Martinez, Manny Ramirez, and Kevin Millar) to adopt an unkempt appearance to distinguish themselves more as opposites from their arch-rivals the New York Yankees (the Yankee players are required to bear a clean-cut appearance).

Bellhorn's incredible strikeout ability earned him the respect of his manager in Boston, Terry Francona. In an interview with the The Boston Globe during the 2004 MLB All-Star Break, Francona stated, "Bell's steady, thats why we keep him in there everyday," an obvious reference to Bellhorn's unique ability to strikeout two or more times per game. After the interview was published, Bellhorn was given the nickname Mark "Steady" Bellhorn by his Boston teammates.

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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, sending the ball high and clanging it loudly off the right field foul pole.

Boston won Game 1 In the World Series, thanks to Bellhorn's eighth-inning two-run home run (again, clanging a ball off the foul pole, this time Pesky's Pole at Fenway Park) 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).

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Milestones

  • Bellhorn became the first player in National League history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning at Miller Park. Chicago won 13–10 over the Brewers. Bellhorn also tied a team record with five RBI in the inning (August 29, 2002).
  • In the aforementioned 2004 ALCS and World Series, Bellhorn became the first second baseman to homer in three consecutive postseason games.
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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 Mark Bellhorn?" shirts. There is also another once-popular shirt, "Don't blame me, I voted for Bellhorn."
  • In 2002, Bellhorn had a record setting season for the Cubs: His 27 home runs was the most ever by a Cubs switch hitter, and he became the 1st player in Cubs history to hit a home run from all 4 infield positions.
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External links

Retrieved from "http://www.netipedia.com/index.php/Mark_Bellhorn"