Mark Bellhorn

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Mark Bellhorn

Cincinnati Reds — No. --
Second baseman
Bats: Switch Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
June 10, 1997 for the Oakland Athletics
Selected MLB statistics
(through July 14, 2006)
AVG     .234
OBP     .345
HR     68
Former teams

Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23, 1974 in Weymouth, Massachusetts) is a second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds and has also played with the Oakland Athletics (1997-98, 2000-01), Chicago Cubs (2002-03), Colorado Rockies (2003), Boston Red Sox (2004-05), New York Yankees (2005), and San Diego Padres (2006). He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed.

Contents

[edit] 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. He is well-known throughout the game for his remarkable patience at the plate, which leads to both his excessive walk and strikeout totals.

[edit] 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 to Pokey Reese and Nomar Garciaparra 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, distinguishing themselves more as opposites from their arch-rivals the New York Yankees (the Yankee players are required to bear a clean-cut appearance).

In 2005, Bellhorn stuggled, registering a lower batting average and dramatically increasing his strikeouts. The Red Sox eventually released Bellhorn, who signed with the rival New York Yankees. Bellhorn spent the following season with the San Diego Padres.

In 2007, Bellhorn attempted to break camp with the Cincinnati Reds but was designated for assignment. [1]

[edit] 2004 postseason

For the first seven postseason games of his career, Bellhorn had 2 hits in 25 at-bats (.080). But his resurgence started when he broke up Mike Mussina's perfect game in the 7th inning of game 1. Bellhorn then 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 off Tom Gordon.

Boston won Game 1 In the World Series, thanks to Bellhorn's eighth-inning two-run home run off Julian Tavarez, (again, clanging a ball off the foul pole, this time Pesky's Pole at Fenway Park) to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-9. 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. In doing so, Bellhorn became the first second baseman ever to homer in three consecutive postseason games. 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).

[edit] Trivia

  • On August 29, 2002, 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.
  • Bellhorn was featured on the October edition of Sports Illustrated Magazine during the 2004 World Series.
  • Bellhorn's younger brother, Todd, pitched in the New York Mets minor league system from 1998-2000. He is now a youth pastor in Florida. [2]
  • 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." [3]
  • 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. [5]
  • In 2006, while playing for the San Diego Padres, Bellhorn hit the longest home run in the history of Petco Park, off Mark Mulder. [6]
  • In 1986, Bellhorn set a Florida State little league record for home runs in a sanctioned game when he hit 7 home runs (1 inside the park).

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../m/a/r/Mark_Bellhorn_1528.html"