Mark Belanger

Belanger was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he attended Pittsfield High at which he played baseball and basketball. Where he became one of the first 1,000 point scorers He was recruited by the Orioles as an amateur in 1962, and made his debut with the club on August 7, 1965.

He took over as the Orioles’ regular shortstop in late 1967, and held the position for over a decade. Nicknamed “The Blade” because of his height of 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and weight of only 170 lb (77 kg), Belanger was known as a poor hitter. In 1970 he was a Triple Crown loser (finishing last in the TC categories). In his eighteen seasons in the major leagues, Belanger hit only 20 home runs, and had a lifetime batting average of .228, only topping the .230 mark over a full season three times; his .228 average is the third lowest of any major league player with over 5000 career at bats, ahead of only George McBride (.218) and Ed Brinkman (.224), and the seventh lowest of any non-catcher with at least 2500 at bats since 1920. His true contribution to the team was on defense, where he earned a reputation as one of the best fielding shortstops ever. Receiving the AL Gold Glove eight times (1969, 1971, 1973–78), he was also named to the All-Star team in 1976. Belanger joined a select group of shortstop-second baseman combinations who each won Gold Gloves in the same season while playing together: in 1969 and 1971 with Davey Johnson, and again with Bobby Grich each year between 1973 and 1976 inclusive. And with Brooks Robinson winning at third base every year through 1975, the left side of the Orioles’ infield was seemingly impenetrable.

Despite his famously poor hitting, Belanger had substantial success against some of the best pitchers of his era, including Bert Blyleven, Nolan Ryan and Tommy John.

He hit a rare home run in the first American League Championship Series game ever played in 1969, and after uncharacteristically hitting .333 in the 1970 ALCS, his contributions led to the Orioles’ 1970 World Series victory, the team’s second title in five years; he caught a line drive to end a 4-3 victory in Game 1 with the tying run on first base, and had an assist to end Game 3. Playing in six ALCS, he set league playoff records for career games, putouts, assists, total chances and double plays by a shortstop, all of which were broken between 1998 and 2002 by Omar Vizquel and Derek Jeter.

He was granted free agency in 1981, perhaps in response to his public criticism of manager Earl Weaver, and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 1982 season, after which he retired.^[2]

Following Belanger’s departure from the Orioles, former teammate Rich Dauer said, “Anyone would miss Mark Belanger. You’re talking about the greatest shortstop in the world. He never put you in a bad position with his double-play throws…He’d put you where you should be to make the play… I never had to think out there. If there was any question in my mind, I’d look at Blade, and he’d have a finger out, pointing which way I should move.