He appeared mainly as an outfielder that first year, and he went 4-for-12 in the National League Division Series against the Philadelphia Phillies, an extra playoff round utilized that year because the season was conducted in two halves as the result of the strike. After briefly playing in the minor leagues, Francona made his major league debut with Montreal on August 19, 1981, a week after the end of that summer's player strike. įrancona was drafted in the first round of the 1980 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos, using the 22nd overall selection. Francona won the 1980 Golden Spikes Award. Francona and the Arizona Wildcats won the 1980 College World Series and Francona was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Career As a player įrancona represented the United States at the 1979 Pan American Games and attended the University of Arizona, where he played college baseball for the Arizona Wildcats baseball team. Omar Vizquel also said all of Belle’s bats were corked in his 2002 book.Īnother infamous moment from Belle’s career was in 1996, when he broke Fernando Vina’s nose.Īlbert Belle, one of the all-time bad guys from baseball.Francona was born on April 22, 1959, in Aberdeen, South Dakota, to Tito Francona (1933–2018), who played outfield for several Major League clubs from 1956 to 1970, and Roberta Jackson (1932–1992).įrancona grew up in New Brighton, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, where he got his start in baseball at New Brighton Area High School. Jason Grimsley, eventually came clean and admitted to everything in 1999, saying he had to use Paul Sorrento’s bat because all of Belle’s were corked. The equipment room was dusted for fingerprints and the path the burglar took was discovered. An investigation that Saturday was carried out by a former FBI agent flown in by MLB. The Chicago police were called and the White Sox threatened charges against the burglar. After the game, Phillips noticed the bats were different when he saw that the replacement bat was not as shiny and also was stamped with Sorrento’s signature. During the sixth inning, the umpires’ custodian noticed clumps of ceiling tile on the floor of the umpire’s room, plus twisted metal brackets in the ceiling. He switched Belle’s bat with Sorrento’s and returned to the clubhouse. Grimsley took a bat belonging to Indians player Paul Sorrento and accessed the area above the false ceiling in the clubhouse and crawled across with a flashlight in his mouth until he reached the umpires’ room. The Indians, knowing the bat was indeed corked, dispatched relief pitcher Jason Grimsley to retrieve the bat. If you’re too young, or have never heard of the story, here’s how wild it was, including an investigation by the FBI, after the Indians stole the corked bat and tried to replace it with a normal one. He served a seven-game suspension that was originally for 10 games. One of Belle’s controversies during his career happened against the White Sox at the old Comiskey Park, where he was caught using a corked bat in 1994. However, after only two seasons in Chicago, Belle got out of his contract and signed with the Baltimore Orioles. At the time, that made him the highest paid player in MLB. He was booked into the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office jail, whose jurisidiction covers the San Francisco Giants’ training hub in Scottsdale.Īfter eight years with the Cleveland Indians to begin his career, Belle signed a five-year, $55 million deal with the White Sox.
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