Timothy Wayne Belcher (born October 19, 1961) is an American former
professional baseball
Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world.
Mod ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
. He played in
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), ...
(MLB) from 1987 to 2000 for seven different teams. He was named ''
The Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
'' Rookie Pitcher of the Year in 1988 for the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
. After his playing career, he served as
pitching coach for 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 2010 and 2011.
Career
During his 14-year baseball career, Belcher pitched from 1987–2000 for seven different ballclubs: the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
(1987–1991),
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 ...
(1992–1993),
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...
(1993),
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
(1994),
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
(1995),
Kansas City Royals (1996–1998), and
Anaheim Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...
(1999–2000).
Belcher played high school baseball at
Highland High School and intercollegiate varsity baseball at
Mount Vernon Nazarene College in
Mount Vernon, Ohio
Mount Vernon is a city in Knox County, Ohio, United States. It is located northeast of Columbus. The population was 16,990 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Knox County.
History
The community was platted in 1805, and named after Mo ...
. He was the first draft pick in the
1983 Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...
. However, he refused to sign with the Twins, and instead was selected in the 1984 supplemental draft by the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
. He was picked up by the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
in the compensation pool.
After climbing through the A's system to
Triple-A, he was traded to Los Angeles on September 3, 1987, as the "player to be named later" in the
Rick Honeycutt
Frederick Wayne Honeycutt (born June 29, 1954) is an American former professional baseball coach and pitcher. Honeycutt pitched in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams over 21 years, from 1977 to 1997. He pitched in 30 post-season ...
transaction. He made his MLB debut on September 6 as a Dodger. Belcher was a member of the 1988 Dodgers team that won 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 ...
, defeating the
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...
. Belcher won one game in the World Series after winning twice in the
National League Championship Series
The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two Nation ...
. 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.
However, his stay in Los Angeles proved brief, as he was traded to the Reds in 1991 as a part of the
Eric 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 the
American League Championship Series
The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...
in relief against the
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
. 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
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
superstar shortstop
Derek Jeter got his first major league hit off Belcher in the
Kingdome
The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...
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 the
1995 American League Division Series, he raged in the locker room area and assaulted a cameraman for filming him after giving up a game-winning
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
to Yankee
catcher
Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...
Jim Leyritz
James Joseph Leyritz (born December 27, 1963) is an American former professional baseball catcher and infielder. In his 11-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, Leyritz played for the New York Yankees, Anaheim Angels, Texas Rangers, Boston ...
. 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 at
Dodger Stadium
Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ( ...
. At the time a member of the Anaheim Angels, Belcher was involved in an altercation with then-Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher
Chan 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.
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 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 ...
organization, and was the team's major-league
pitching coach during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belcher, Tim
1961 births
Living people
Albany-Colonie A's players
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
Anaheim Angels players
Baseball players at the 1983 Pan American Games
Baseball coaches from Ohio
Baseball players from Ohio
Chicago White Sox players
Cincinnati Reds players
Cleveland Indians coaches
Detroit Tigers players
Edmonton Trappers players
Erie SeaWolves players
Huntsville Stars players
Indianapolis Indians players
Kansas City Royals players
Lake Elsinore Storm players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Madison Muskies players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Major League Baseball pitching coaches
Mount Vernon Nazarene Cougars baseball players
Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States
Pan American Games medalists in baseball
People from Mount Gilead, Ohio
Seattle Mariners players
Tacoma Tigers players
Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games