The most feared hitter of the nineties. Five-time All-Star. Five-time Silver Slugger. In 1995, Albert Belle became the only player in history to hit 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same season. Cleveland rode his bat to the World Series.
But Belle had a secret. His hip was failing. By 2000, every swing brought pain. Then on March 8, 2001, Baltimore issued a press release. Albert Belle was totally disabled. No press conference. No goodbye.
He walked away from $39 million still owed. At thirty-four, one of baseball's most feared hitters was gone.
Four more healthy years, he reaches 500 home runs. Instead, the man who made pitchers tremble vanished without saying goodbye.
🎬 More Lost Legends → stories of the players baseball forgot.
Related: One red light stole 4 prime years but he still became MVP (Josh Hamilton | Career Story)
