| Tim Belcher | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belcher with theLos Angeles Dodgersc. 1988 | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: (1961-10-19)October 19, 1961 (age 64) Mount Gilead, Ohio, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| September 6, 1987, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||
| September 30, 2000, for the Anaheim Angels | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 146–140 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 4.16 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 1,519 | ||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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Timothy Wayne Belcher (born October 19, 1961)[1] is an American former professionalbaseballpitcher. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1987 to 2000 for seven different teams. He was namedThe Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1988 for theNational League. After his playing career, he served aspitching coach for theCleveland Indians in 2010 and 2011.
During his 14-year baseball career, Belcher pitched from 1987 to 2000 for seven different ballclubs: theLos Angeles Dodgers (1987–1991),Cincinnati Reds (1992–1993),Chicago White Sox (1993),Detroit Tigers (1994),Seattle Mariners (1995),Kansas City Royals (1996–1998), andAnaheim Angels (1999–2000).
Belcher played high school baseball atHighland High School and intercollegiate varsity baseball atMount Vernon Nazarene College inMount Vernon, Ohio. He was the first draft pick in the1983 Major League Baseball Draft, selected by theMinnesota Twins. However, he refused to sign with the Twins, and instead was selected in the 1984 supplemental draft by theNew York Yankees. He was picked up by theOakland Athletics in the compensation pool.
After climbing through the A's system toTriple-A, he was traded to Los Angeles on September 3, 1987, as the "player to be named later" in theRick Honeycutt transaction. He made his MLB debut on September 6 as a Dodger.[2] Belcher was a member of the 1988 Dodgers team that won theWorld Series, defeating theOakland Athletics. Belcher won one game in the World Series after winning twice in theNational League Championship Series. In 1989, he led the National League with 10 complete games and tied (with Roger Clemens, of the American League) for the MLB lead in total shutouts with eight, while placing in the top ten in wins and ERA. His 1989 shutout total has not since been equaled in MLB.
Los Angeles traded Belcher to the Reds in 1991 as a part of theEric Davis multi-player transaction. He tied a career high with 15 wins for the Reds, but was dealt again, this time to the White Sox in the middle of the 1993 season at the trading deadline. He won Game Four of theAmerican League Championship Series in relief against theToronto Blue Jays. Filing for free agency, he signed with the Tigers for 1994, but led the American League in losses with 15 that strike-shortened year.
He returned in 1995 to the Reds on a one-year minor-league contract, but was soon dealt by them a second time, this time in May to the Mariners.New York Yankees superstar shortstopDerek Jeter got his first major league hit off Belcher in theKingdome on May 30, 1995. At the end of the regular season, Belcher lost two post-season games, the only two playoff losses he suffered in his career; after Game 2 of the1995 American League Division Series, he raged in the locker room area and assaulted a cameraman for filming him after giving up a game-winninghome run to YankeecatcherJim Leyritz. Again becoming a free agent, he signed with the Royals for the 1996 season, spending the next three years with Kansas City and leading the team in wins each season.
On June 5, 1999, Belcher was involved in an on-field brawl atDodger Stadium. At the time a member of the Anaheim Angels, Belcher was involved in an altercation with then-Los Angeles Dodgers pitcherChan Ho Park. Park claimed that Belcher had tagged him too hard on the just-concluded play and asked him about the incident. Park accused Belcher of making racist comments before his attack on Belcher.[3]
Belcher played his final game on September 30, 2000. He retired in spring training in 2001, his effectiveness gone following a series of injuries. He later served as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations in theCleveland Indians organization, and was the team's major-leaguepitching coach during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.[4]
| Preceded by | First overall pick in the MLB Entry Draft 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Los Angeles DodgersOpening Day Starting pitcher 1989 1991 | Succeeded by |
