Mark Bellhorn
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Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23, 1974 in Weymouth, Massachusetts) is an infielder and switch-hitting batter who plays for the Boston Red Sox (since 2004). Previously, he played with the Oakland Athletics (1997-98, 2000-01), Chicago Cubs (2002-03) and Colorado Rockies (2003).
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Profile
A player who will shine 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.
With excellent plate discipline, Bellhorn is a good fastball hitter who will drive mistake pitches with some power. He will go as far as to let good pitches go by if not fastballs until he has two strikes in the count. From there he will attempt to foul balls off, culminating in very long at-bats that wear out pitchers. He also 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.
Career
Bellhorn broke in the majors with Oakland in 1997, hitting .228 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. In the 2003 mid-season he was traded to the Rockies, finishing the year with .221, two home runs and 26 RBI.
Bellhorn was signed by the Boston Red Sox in 2004. As of September 22nd, he was the Red Sox starting second baseman and enjoying a career season, hitting .265 with 17 home runs and 80 RBI. Despite leading the league in strikeouts (188), 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).
Bellhorn is a career .242 hitter with 53 home runs and 188 RBI in 509 games
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. Then, Boston won the World Series 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.
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
- Bellhorn's father, Ted, is a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Tennessee.
- His quiet demeanor, humble behavior, and scrappy play created a small but fiercely loyal fan-base for Bellhorn. Throughout Boston, people are seen wearing "Who died and made you Bellhorn?" shirts. There is also another popular shirt, "Don't blame me, I voted for Bellhorn."
External links
- Mark Bellhorn at:
- Baseball Reference (statistics and analysis) (http://www.baseball-reference.com/b/bellhma01.shtml)
- ESPN (profile and daily update) (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/players/profile?statsId=5831)
- Mark Bellhorn fan site (http://www.markbellhorn.net/index.htm)
- Bellhorn in middle school (http://www.stlukes-oviedo.org/school/markbellhorn.html)
- Mark Bellhorn site (http://www.markbellhorn.cjb.net/)