Albert Belle: a new beginning for baseball's $55 million man

Ebony, May, 1997 by Walter Leavy

The game's most intriguing player tries to put his controversial past behind him

When Albert Belle decided to leave the Cleveland Indians and sign a five-year, $55 million contract with the Chicago White Sox, he not only became the game's highest-paid player (until Barry Bonds surpassed him two months later), but he also started a transformation that has revealed a side of him that, previously, rarely surfaced in public.

Somewhere along the way, during the 343-mile trip from Cleveland to the Windy City, Belle found a new attitude. The 6-foot-2 muscular frame is the same, the pigeon-toed walk is the same; the sometimes partially bearded and cherubic face is the same, but, in many ways, this isn't the same guy who gained a reputation for being surly, moody and difficult. With the move to Chicago, he has become a more mellow, more approachable superstar. These days terms like accessible and agreeable seem to fit him like a fancy, tailored suit. Even his harshest critics say this is a new Albert Belle who is much different from the one who became the most talked-about and, many say, the most intriguing player in the game.

For the past six years, Cleveland was the canvas on which Belle displayed his incredible athletic artistry--artistry that includes four All-Star games, a World Series appearance, three RBI titles and, according to many observers, two denied MVP awards. But while he was painting this Picasso-like masterpiece, there was another picture--the one that included run-ins with media and fans, and sometimes over-shadowed his brilliance as a ballplayer.

Although Belle doesn't like to talk about certain parts of his life, he is quick to acknowledge his transgressions, saying those incidents are a part of his past and that's where they should remain--in the past. "As I look back over my career, I certainly have made some mistakes," says the 30-year-old left-fielder who last year had a .311 average, 48 home runs and 148 runs batted in. "But what has made me a stronger person is the fact that I have learned from those mistakes. I am committed to making sure that nothing interferes with my new team, my teammates or interferes with me having the best possible season."

Belle's attitude adjustment, metamorphosis or whatever you want to call it, can be attributed--at least partially--to Albert's continued personal growth, his greater financial security and what he perceives to be a more than acceptable amount of attention and respect he has gotten from White Sox players and management. During his days in Cleveland, he says the front office didn't do enough in his behalf, particularly where the media was concerned, and that, he believes, is what led to many of the negative portrayals of him.

What has ruffled the feathers of so many in the media is Belle's longstanding routine of not talking to reporters before games. In sports, routines are as common as escalating salaries, and some players are religious in their efforts to keep them intact. Game-day routines can range from a player eating the exact same meal to repeatedly wearing a "lucky" item of clothing underneath his uniform. For Albert, he simply wants no part of the notebooks and microphones (and those carrying them) or the hustle and bustle that goes on inside the locker room before games. He uses that time in the clubhouse as kind of a period of meditation to get mentally prepared. It works for him; it infuriates reporters.

"There are certain things I like to go a certain way, specifically before a ball game," Belle says. "I go through a pre-game routine, and I don't like to be tampered with [by media members]. The Indians' public relations department didn't do anything to protect that situation, and that's why some not so good things happened, and I looked like the bad guy. [Cleveland officials have refuted Belle's claims.]

"Before games, I was constantly being approached about interviews, and I stressed to the Indians' management that if they [media] weren't going to respect what I do before the game, then I wasn't going to respect them after the game. I later found out that the administration wasn't doing its part to make the media aware that I wouldn't be available before a game."

The result? Some lingering bad feelings were created on both sides. But it's funny how a new address and a new contract can change things. Since moving to Chicago, the chasm between Belle and the media is slowly closing. The White Sox were quick to take steps to ensure that his pre-game routine is not interrupted, and the new Albert Belle is extending himself--admitting that in the past he hadn't put forth an effort to try to reach a happy medium with reporters.

No matter what critics might think of Belle's personality, it's difficult to deny that he probably is the most productive player in the game. Over the past five years, he has hit more home runs (234) and driven in more runs (711) than any other major-leaguer. "This guy [Belle] is as dangerous as they come," says new teammate and two-time MVP Frank Thomas. "People love entertainment. and Albert definitely is an entertainer."