When former major league baseball player Albert Belle was still known as Joey Belle, the Shreveport native hit 49 home runs with a .332 batting average playing for the LSU Tigers from 1985-1987. During his 12-year major league career playing outfield for the Clevelenad Indians, Chicago White Sox, and Baltimore Orioles, Belle hit 381 home runs with 1,239 runs batted in. In 1995, Belle became the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season.
Unfortunately, Belle's history away from the batter's box has been as tumultuous as possible. He was suspended at LSU for going after a heckler in the stands, then he did it again as a pro in Cleveland, successfully chucking a ball at an outspoken fan at his home stadium. In '94, Belle was caught corking his bat and in '96, he was fined for knocking Milwaukee Brewers second baseman Fernando Vina into tomorrow for blocking his way on the basepath. I won't even bother to go into Belle's continuing off-the-field antics.
But nonetheless, Belle goes down as one of the most powerful hitters baseball has ever seen. Surely his negative temperment won't ever allow him to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, but Albert Belle's brute strength certainly deserves to be remembered.
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