SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | May 23, 1999
Harold Baines was out of the lineup again yesterday to rest his sore legs, so the Orioles went with a right-handed designated hitter for the second consecutive game despite the Texas Rangers starting another right-hander. Only this time, it wasn't Rich Amaral who filled in for Baines.Amaral's name was in the original lineup as the DH, but Ray Miller told Albert Belle he could be used there if seeking a breather. After taking batting practice, Belle took Miller up on his offer, so Amaral was moved to right field.
SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | June 12, 1999
ATLANTA -- As usual, Jeff Conine wandered over to where the Orioles' lineup was posted in the visiting clubhouse at Turner Field yesterday, checking to see if his name was among the batters who would take their cuts against four-time Cy Young Award-winner Greg Maddux.What Conine found was most unusual: He was occupying right field and the cleanup spot, the previous domains of Albert Belle.Two nights after he was confronted by Belle in the dugout at Florida's Pro Player Stadium and lured into a heated exchange, Orioles manager Ray Miller made the decision to start Conine, a .357 (10-for-28)
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | May 27, 1999
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Orioles acquired Albert Belle for his numbers but could hardly anticipate the relative power drought he has so far endured.The Orioles right fielder has nine home runs and a team-leading 31 RBIs, numbers that project to well over 30 home runs and 115 RBIs for the season. But by Belle's own definition, they are below par.Few, if any, individual statistics this season rank with Belle's one double in 157 at-bats. A year after slamming 48 doubles with the Chicago White Sox, Belle has one fewer double than utility infielder Jeff Reboulet in 105 more at-bats.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | July 26, 1999
Orioles right fielder Albert Belle used the occasion of yesterday's offensive breakout to address local media for the first time since spring training, and his comments during a third-floor news conference included a denial that he recently renounced the blanket no-trade provision in his five-year, $65 million contract and disappointment with the reception he has received from many Orioles fans.Interrupting a media boycott, Belle criticized last week's report by The Sun that he approached the club last month to renounce the no-trade provision.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss | June 12, 1999
ATLANTA -- The Orioles answered the $80,247 question last night.Albert Belle sat down.Manager Ray Miller, who verbally sparred with Belle in the visitors dugout at Pro Player Stadium two nights before, acted upon several Thursday conversations with general manager Frank Wren by deleting the right fielder's name from the cleanup spot in the series opener against the Atlanta Braves.Steadfastly refusing to categorize Belle's benching as punishment, Miller terminated Belle's string of 392 straight games, longest in the majors.
SPORTS
By Joe Strauss and Roch Kubatko | June 23, 1999
Whether intended as a prank or a protest, Orioles right fielder Albert Belle created an organizational swirl last night by posting a petition at his locker to boycott next Monday's exhibition in Rochester.Belle's handmade sign said simply: Petition to Boycott Exhibition Game in Rochester on Monday, 6/28/99. Below were spaces for players to register their support. Belle was the first to sign, and later on Scott Erickson's signature appeared underneath. Club officials apparently were not amused.
SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | March 31, 1999
Highlights and lowlights from the Orioles' 7-6 loss to the Montreal Expos in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.DOWN -- Base running: Manager Ray Miller sums it up best: "We had a little jet lag on the bases."UP -- Lenny Webster: Serving as the designated hitter, Webster takes the role to heart.UP -- Sidney Ponson: Remove one inning and it's sheer perfection.DOWN -- Mike Timlin: Numbers look worse than performance, but it's still three runs and five hits in one inning. And the loss.UP -- Charles Johnson: The bat looks so much quicker this spring.
SPORTS
By Peter Hermann | September 10, 1999
The story making the rounds is that slugger Albert Belle deliberately shoved a Baltimore police sergeant during a game last week. The Orioles and police describe it more as a brushback.Nevertheless, the on-field incident during the Cleveland game last Friday prompted a meeting between police and the Orioles in which both agreed to "characterize it as an inadvertent brush," said Orioles spokesman Bill Stetka."Both the club and the police believe it is not an issue," the team spokesman added.
SPORTS
By Roch Kubatko | August 5, 1999
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The runs had to come from somewhere, and soon. Jason Johnson was pitching the game of his major-league life. It couldn't go unrewarded.In what passed as an avalanche by the Orioles' standards, they buried Oakland starter Jimmy Haynes under a six-run fifth inning, sending 11 batters to the plate and avoiding a West Coast sweep yesterday with a 9-5 victory before 17,271 at Network Associates Coliseum.The Orioles returned to Baltimore last night to begin a four-game homestand against Detroit before again hitting the road.
SPORTS
July 4, 1999
Selfish players on displayI agree completely with Jeff Mariner, who wrote about selfish baseball players in a letter to The Sun on June 20.After a recent Orioles-Angels game, my son and I went to the players' parking lot in the hopes of getting an autograph. There were less than 20 youngsters waiting there, so we thought our chances would be good.One after another, the players walked to their cars and sped off, while the kids screamed out their names. Not one child got an autograph from a starting player, and no one even waved to acknowledge the presence of the young fans.