A Terrible Temper As Hot As His Bat -- Tantrums Haunt Indians' Albert Belle

CLEVELAND - His troubled past clearly shows that Albert Belle, Cleveland's promising young outfielder, has a short fuse. The Indians and the baseball world are discovering that it may be attached to an emotional powder keg.

Belle, who changed his first name from Joey to Albert a year ago in an effort to improve his image, is a terror by any name.

Saturday night, he had his first major-league incident - throwing a ball at a taunting fan - and it will cost him.

Bobby Brown, American League president, suspended Belle for a week without pay yesterday, and the player immediately appealed. So despite the suspension, the Seattle Mariners, who begin a three-game series with Cleveland tonight, may have to face Belle, who is batting .304 with six home runs and 19 runs batted in.

Belle, who spent 10 weeks in an alcohol treatment clinic last summer, was taunted in the seventh inning Saturday by a Cleveland fan, Jeff Pillar. Pillar, 33, reportedly said, "Hey, Joey, keg party over at my house after the game."

Belle, who had pointed to his crotch earlier in response to fan abuse, wheeled and fired a ball from 15 feet away, striking Pillar in the chest.

Belle later issued an apology in a statement through the ballclub's public-relations department after the suspension was announced. It said, in part: "I regret that I lost my spirituality for an instance. It will not happen again."

He declined to comment on his appeal and would not answer any questions. But his attorney, Arn Tellum, said the punishment was too steep.

"I do feel this is excessive, in light of the circumstances," Tellum said from Los Angeles. "To me, it's clearly excessive - not to say that it's entirely justified, what Albert did, but obviously there were mitigating circumstances here. My hope would be that fans would understand that all players deserve to be treated humanely."

Last week, Cincinnati's Rob Dibble was given a four-day suspension after he threw a ball randomly into the stands and it struck a woman.

Hank Peters, president of the Indians, called Belle's behavior "unacceptable."

"I was joking," said Pillar, who also admitted he was wrong to ride Belle. "I like the guy; (but) he has a brain of dynamite."

Belle's spontaneous action was the latest in a series of tantrums and tangled plumbing fixtures. His most notorious incident was last season after his demotion to a Class AAA team in Colorado Springs, Colo. In a rage, he took a baseball bat to the clubhouse bathroom and converted it into a leaking, twisted mess.

Belle's public troubles began in 1987 when he was kicked off the

Louisiana State University baseball team, which was heading for the College World Series, for chasing a taunting fan into the stands.

"He had one flaw," LSU Coach Skip Bertman said. "He couldn't control his temper. He'd lose it in an instant. It was almost unbelievable. If he struck out, there was no telling what he'd do."

Bertman estimated he had to pull Belle out of a game at least 15 times because of his tantrums. However, he described Belle as "the greatest player I've ever coached." He said Belle is capable of hitting 50 home runs, batting .300 and stealing 30 bases per season in the majors, "if he can keep his head together."

The Indians selected Belle in the June 1987 draft, but he balked at every contract offer. He played for a Cape Cod team that summer and was expelled for run-ins with fans, umpires and players.

After finally signing with Cleveland, he was suspended twice in 1988 from his Class A team for "lack of effort." He was banned from the Mexican League that winter for throwing equipment.

Belle was benched by his Class AA club in 1989 and at Colorado Springs last season for not hustling. He also was suspended for five days for his bathroom renovation.

Last June, Belle entered the Cleveland Clinic to treat his alcohol problem and emerged a new man with a new name. But his new image didn't last.

He was released by the Ponce Lions in Puerto Rico last winter for "an attitude problem."

In case you're keeping score, he has had six suspensions and three outright expulsions in three countries. That doesn't include his college difficulties.

While Belle was with the Indians, pitcher Bud Black nicknamed him "Snapper" because of his quick snaps of temper. Manager John McNamara reprimanded him in spring training for not running out a fly ball. Belle finished training camp with 11 home runs and 26 RBI in 21 games.

Coach Billy Williams of the Indians has been Belle's unofficial personal mentor since 1989, when the two were at Class AA Canton-Akron.

"His problem is that he's a perfectionist," Williams said recently. "He believes he should get a hit every at-bat. There's nothing wrong with that attitude, if you realize that you are going to make an out seven of 10 times."

Williams said Belle may have been rushed to the majors. He said most players get about 1,500 minor-league at-bats, but Belle had fewer than 400.

"We talk about 0-fors (hitless in a game)," Williams said. "I told him he's going to get 500 to 600 at-bats during the season. `Look at your average at that point and not worry about the day-to-day things.'

"When he goes 0 for 4 with a couple of strikeouts, we expect him to be upset, but not to tear up the clubhouse."

Cleveland, once burdened with the unpredictable brilliance of Jimmy Piersall, wants Belle in the lineup. The Indians are woefully weak offensively without him. However, management wonders privately, at what cost.

"People are expecting him to turn 180 degrees overnight," Williams said. "He can't do that. He needs to cross one bridge at a time."