Stanley Peter Belinda (born August 6, 1966) is a former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player. A right-handed

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

who also batted right-handed, Belinda is tall and weighs 187 pounds. He pitched from a three-quarters arm slot (sometimes categorized as a "sidearm" delivery) and threw both a regular low-90s

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

and a

split-fingered fastball A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that looks to the batter like a fastball until it drops suddenly. Derived from the forkball, it is so named because the pitcher puts the index and middle finger on different s ...

Baseball career

Pittsburgh Pirates

As an amateur, Belinda pitched at

State College Area High School State College Area High School, often referred to locally as "State High," is a public high school in State College, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the only public high school in the State College Area School District and is within walking d ...

and

Allegany College of Maryland Allegany College of Maryland (or ACM) is a public community college in Cumberland, Maryland. It was previously known as Allegany Community College. The college was founded in 1961 and is accredited by the Middle State Commission on Higher Education ...

. In , the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

selected him in the 10th round of the June draft, the 238th pick overall. He made his professional debut in the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

and advanced steadily through the minors, making his major league debut with the Pirates on September 8, 1989. From –, Belinda was a key reliever for the Pirates, setting up for

Bill Landrum Thomas William Landrum (born August 17, 1957) is a former right-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played eight seasons with four teams, the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Montreal Expos from to . ...

in the first two years before being promoted to closer in 1992.

1992 National League Championship Series

The Pirates were one of the dominant teams in the National League at that time, winning the East division three consecutive years from 1990 to 1992, but they ultimately proved unable to advance to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

. In Game 7 of the NLCS, Belinda came out of the bullpen in the ninth inning, trying to protect a 2–0 Pittsburgh lead with three men on base and nobody out. Belinda induced

Ron Gant Ronald Edwin Gant (born March 2, 1965) is an American television news anchor and former professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves (1987–1993), Cincinnati Reds (1995), St. Louis Cardinals ...

to fly out, scoring one run, then walked

Damon Berryhill Damon Scott Berryhill (born December 3, 1963) is an American former professional baseball catcher and former manager of the AAA Gwinnett Stripers. He played ten seasons for the Chicago Cubs, the Atlanta Braves, the Boston Red Sox, the Cincinnati R ...

and retired Brian Hunter on a popup. Then, with reserve Francisco Cabrera at the plate, Belinda surrendered a game-winning single, with slow-footed

Sid Bream Sidney Eugene Bream (born August 3, 1960) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. From 1983 through 1994, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1983–85), Pittsburgh Pirates (1985–90), Atlanta ...

barely beating the throw from

left fielder In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...

to score the winning run from second base.

Kansas City Royals and Boston Red Sox

Belinda was the subject of intense criticism in Pittsburgh after the loss, although his overall performance in the playoffs had been very good, and the loss of Bonds in

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

that offseason ended the team's days as a contender. The Pirates entered a rebuilding mode, and on July 31, 1993, they traded Belinda to the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for pitchers

Jon Lieber Jonathan Ray Lieber (born April 2, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He stands tall and weighs . He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1994–1998), Chicago Cubs (1999–2002 and 2008), ...

and

Dan Miceli Daniel Miceli (born September 9, 1970) is an American former major league baseball relief pitcher. Early career Miceli began playing baseball during his senior year at Dr. Phillips High School in Florida where he was teammates with Brian Barbe ...

. While with the Royals, Belinda pulled off an

immaculate inning In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strike zone, strikes to a Batting (baseball), batter during his time at bat. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning, using the mi ...

, striking out the side on nine pitches. He is the last Royals pitcher to achieve this feat. Arm problems plagued Belinda during his year and a half with the Royals, and he left the team as a free agent, signing with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

shortly before the 1995 season. Temporarily healthy once more, Belinda enjoyed a great season in 1995, picking up eight wins and 10 saves as the primary setup man for

Rick Aguilera Richard Warren Aguilera (born December 31, 1961) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1985 to 2000. Aguilera won a world championship as a member of the N ...

. Boston won the American League's East division that year, but was swept in three games by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the ALDS. Belinda's arm troubles resurfaced in , and he was largely ineffective, walking more batters than he struck out and pitching only 28 innings.

Cincinnati Reds

Belinda signed with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

that offseason, and improbably went on to enjoy the best season of his career, delivering 99 innings of quality pitching. His 84 games pitched ranked second in the league, and his 114 strikeouts led all relief pitchers in baseball. He began to experience tingling and numbness in his legs the following season, and on September 22, 1998, the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

issued a diagnosis of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

Colorado Rockies and Atlanta Braves

Daily injections of the drug

Copaxone Glatiramer acetate (also known as Copolymer 1, Cop-1), sold under the brand name Copaxone among others, is an immunomodulator medication used to treat multiple sclerosis. Glatiramer acetate is approved in the United States to reduce the frequency ...

and changes to his diet and lifestyle enabled Belinda to keep pitching professionally for a time, but his performance suffered. He spent as a mop-up pitcher for the Reds, and on October 30 of that year, he and outfielder

Jeffrey Hammonds Jeffrey Bryan Hammonds (born March 5, 1971) is an American former professional baseball player. Hammonds was an outfielder and played for the Baltimore Orioles (1993–1998), Cincinnati Reds (1998–1999), Colorado Rockies (2000), Milwaukee ...

were traded to the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

for outfielder

Dante Bichette Alphonse Dante Bichette Sr. (; born November 18, 1963) is an American former professional baseball player, currently employed by the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder for the California An ...

. Belinda put up a 7.07

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

with the Rockies in , before being released in July. He signed with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

but was released again on September 12, ending his professional career. He retired with 41 wins, 37 losses, and 79 saves, putting up a 4.15 ERA in 685 career innings.

Personal life

Belinda has

. Belinda has a son, Wyatt, who played baseball at the college level. His nephew, Jacob played college baseball at

Lock Haven University Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania (LHU) is a public university in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. The main campus consists of and the branch campus covers . It offers 69 undergradua ...

and currently plays in the

organization.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belinda, Stan 1966 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Kansas City Royals players Boston Red Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Gulf Coast Pirates players Watertown Pirates players Macon Pirates players Salem Buccaneers players Harrisburg Senators players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Sarasota Red Sox players Pawtucket Red Sox players Indianapolis Indians players Allegany Trojans baseball players People with multiple sclerosis