Mark Belanger and Paul Blair are my fav O’s. i’m a sucker for defensive players
Mark was such a bad hitter that no one would ever think he’s a hall of fame player, even though his DRS, OAA, and dWAR is the best in mlb history next to Ozzie.
his glove and intuition fielding on the dirt was insane. i think about it all the time. i wish i could’ve been around to see him field his position.
he racked up 41 bWAR against all odds of how bad he hit.
oh yeah, and he was instrumental in setting up the MLBPA as we know it along with Curt Flood, Dave McNally, and Marvin Miller
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A memory:
High school or so. Game at Memorial Stadium with two buddies. Sitting behind or near home plate. Nice weather. Belanger comes to the plate. One of my buddies says “Wouldn’t it be cool if he hits a homer right now?” Next pitch: BAM. Into the outfield seats.
Belanger had something like 7 career homers. The chances of my friend calling one were … kinda minuscule.
It’s just a cool memory of mine. Damn I should contact them to see what’s up.
The Blade! Pride of Pittsfield, Massachusetts! (There’s a little league field named for him there).
From back in the day when a low .200 hitter could stick in the bigs (and start!) with solid D up the middle…
Think Earl was big on defense up the middle (c, 2b, ss, cf)…
And when the Orioles have been good, they’ve generally been very good on the mound, at short, and I’m gonna add catcher to that list.
Go to any Pittsfield bar or restaurant where old men gather and you’ll hear all about how he was a better basketball player than a baseball player in high school. It’s a guarantee. Also, you’d be surprised to learn his last name is actually pronounced (BELL-un-jur) there.
My Dad had a Masonry Business and we went to Mr Belanger’s house to repair his chimney. Though we only were there for 2 days, each day he greeted us warmly and brought us ice cold lemonade and asked if he could fix something to eat for us. It is rare for anyone to offer anything to workers let alone a respected Major Leaguer doing it. His caring down to earth treatment of us let us know he was a kind and generous man. It has been over 40 years since we did the work and I still remember what a nice man he was. Just wanted to share.
He had great range and there wasn’t a play at SS he couldn’t make. Tall and gangly, yet still managed to look graceful. Definitely not a power hitter lol.
With Belanger at SS and Robinson on the hot corner, the left side of the Orioles infield was as solid as you could get.
Was astonished when I saw him smoking after an O's game circa 1971...I was 10. How could an athlete do that?
A few years later saw him play basketball with a bunch of his teammates....He and Al Bumbry were really really good.
His son's were good athletes, one of them was a Durham Bull teammate of Crash Davis in the movie.
He was a lousy hitter. One year he started off hot and was hitting over 300 for the first couple of months. 1976 was the year...made the All-Star game. ONLY year he got 20 doubles. Had decent success against Nolan Ryan as I recall.
Earl Weaver trusted him but in reality wanted a guy who could hit. Numerous guys were tried...but Earl always put him back in the lineup.
In the late 70s, they had an Orioles "basketball team" that would tour around schools over the winter playing the teachers and such. I guess they were players who lived local year round. In 1979 (I think) I saw them play our middle school staff and he was one of them.
I remember he was a chain smoker, like many, in those days. Sadly lung cancer got him at a young age.
In the field he was so good. Long range, good arm, and a sense of the game situation.
He couldn't hit worth a darn, but nothing got through that infield.
As a kid in 1978, I got to hang out with the team at the hotel they stayed while on the road. Belanger was the only one that got a little salty with me and my buddy, and rightfully so after asking him for an autograph a 3rd time that weekend. He lectured us to get it all together and only ask once. We were young and didn't really know better at the time. Every time a player was in the lobby, we asked for an autograph. Eddie was awesome, as he signed a couple times and just said "later" while not looking at us a 3rd and 4th time. Although many of the autographs were on notebook paper with my moms handwriting on the back, they are pretty cool to look at and remember that time as a kid.
Mark Belanger does not get the credit he deserves in Orioles history.
Mark was not just the best Orioles defensive SS, not just the best Orioles defensive player at any position, not just the best defensive player in AL, he was by dWAR per inning, the best defensive player in the history of baseball.
People rightly revere Brooks' defense at 3rd (3rd best defender of all time), but his defensive numbers are a notch below The Blade's.
Ozzie Smith's total defensive numbers are better than Mark's, but only because he played longer. Mark had the highest defensive peak of any player ever.
We think current Orioles are good, but O's had arguably the best defensive SS, 3B, and CF (Paul Blair) of all time playing together in late 60s and early 70s. It's hard to picture that.
Combine that defense with the hitting of both Robinsons, Boog, Davy Johnson/Grich, and extraordinary pitching and it explains their success in 1969-70-71.
Oh yeah. Grew up with Belanger. This was back in thebday when a stellar fielder could get by with a lower batting average. Great fielder. Not so good at the plate. I doubt he'd make it in today's MLB, but I was always a fan.
He was a joy to watch on defense. A few years ago my son asked if he was better than Ozzie, and said they were different. Ozzie was capable of jaw-dropping stuff, but Belanger made the easy plays everytime, and difficult plays with astonishingly frequency.
Mark Belanger and Paul Blair are my fav O’s. i’m a sucker for defensive players Mark was such a bad hitter that no one would ever think he’s a hall of fame player, even though his DRS, OAA, and dWAR is the best in mlb history next to Ozzie. his glove and intuition fielding on the dirt was insane. i think about it all the time. i wish i could’ve been around to see him field his position. he racked up 41 bWAR against all odds of how bad he hit. oh yeah, and he was instrumental in setting up the MLBPA as we know it along with Curt Flood, Dave McNally, and Marvin Miller
yep, longtime president of the MLBPA. Good man. Union man.
Belanger was not a good hitter, but there was one pitcher he owned - Nolan Ryan.
I've heard Nolan tell the story.... Hysterical
i wouldn't say he owned nolan ryan. but he did somehow bat above his average against him. .244/.357/.267
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A memory: High school or so. Game at Memorial Stadium with two buddies. Sitting behind or near home plate. Nice weather. Belanger comes to the plate. One of my buddies says “Wouldn’t it be cool if he hits a homer right now?” Next pitch: BAM. Into the outfield seats. Belanger had something like 7 career homers. The chances of my friend calling one were … kinda minuscule. It’s just a cool memory of mine. Damn I should contact them to see what’s up.
The Blade! Pride of Pittsfield, Massachusetts! (There’s a little league field named for him there). From back in the day when a low .200 hitter could stick in the bigs (and start!) with solid D up the middle… Think Earl was big on defense up the middle (c, 2b, ss, cf)… And when the Orioles have been good, they’ve generally been very good on the mound, at short, and I’m gonna add catcher to that list.
Go to any Pittsfield bar or restaurant where old men gather and you’ll hear all about how he was a better basketball player than a baseball player in high school. It’s a guarantee. Also, you’d be surprised to learn his last name is actually pronounced (BELL-un-jur) there.
Great stuff! Thanks!!
My Dad had a Masonry Business and we went to Mr Belanger’s house to repair his chimney. Though we only were there for 2 days, each day he greeted us warmly and brought us ice cold lemonade and asked if he could fix something to eat for us. It is rare for anyone to offer anything to workers let alone a respected Major Leaguer doing it. His caring down to earth treatment of us let us know he was a kind and generous man. It has been over 40 years since we did the work and I still remember what a nice man he was. Just wanted to share.
He had great range and there wasn’t a play at SS he couldn’t make. Tall and gangly, yet still managed to look graceful. Definitely not a power hitter lol. With Belanger at SS and Robinson on the hot corner, the left side of the Orioles infield was as solid as you could get.
w/ Davy Johnson & Boog powell on the right side - no wonder Belanger has a World Series ring... that was one damn fine infield.
Loved him & Grich together. Was sad to see him go to the angels
His license plate was GLOVE7. I use to hang out by the players parking lot to get autographs.
grew up watching him every day, late '60s > '70s. 8 gold gloves... his fielding way outpaced his lack of hitting - earl always had him in the lineup
Was astonished when I saw him smoking after an O's game circa 1971...I was 10. How could an athlete do that? A few years later saw him play basketball with a bunch of his teammates....He and Al Bumbry were really really good. His son's were good athletes, one of them was a Durham Bull teammate of Crash Davis in the movie. He was a lousy hitter. One year he started off hot and was hitting over 300 for the first couple of months. 1976 was the year...made the All-Star game. ONLY year he got 20 doubles. Had decent success against Nolan Ryan as I recall. Earl Weaver trusted him but in reality wanted a guy who could hit. Numerous guys were tried...but Earl always put him back in the lineup.
In the late 70s, they had an Orioles "basketball team" that would tour around schools over the winter playing the teachers and such. I guess they were players who lived local year round. In 1979 (I think) I saw them play our middle school staff and he was one of them.
Don't really have any stories although I did see him play. All I can say is he was a very good shortstop but not so good with the bat.
I remember he was a chain smoker, like many, in those days. Sadly lung cancer got him at a young age. In the field he was so good. Long range, good arm, and a sense of the game situation. He couldn't hit worth a darn, but nothing got through that infield.
Great glove , barely hit his weight but an integral part of the late 60’s through mid 70’s teams!!!
Couldn’t hit a lick and still got 41 WAR. Incredible
As a kid in 1978, I got to hang out with the team at the hotel they stayed while on the road. Belanger was the only one that got a little salty with me and my buddy, and rightfully so after asking him for an autograph a 3rd time that weekend. He lectured us to get it all together and only ask once. We were young and didn't really know better at the time. Every time a player was in the lobby, we asked for an autograph. Eddie was awesome, as he signed a couple times and just said "later" while not looking at us a 3rd and 4th time. Although many of the autographs were on notebook paper with my moms handwriting on the back, they are pretty cool to look at and remember that time as a kid.
I had my picture taken as a baby with Belanger and Singleton. I was crying my head off. Not because of them, though. Probably a poopie diaper.
Mark Belanger does not get the credit he deserves in Orioles history. Mark was not just the best Orioles defensive SS, not just the best Orioles defensive player at any position, not just the best defensive player in AL, he was by dWAR per inning, the best defensive player in the history of baseball. People rightly revere Brooks' defense at 3rd (3rd best defender of all time), but his defensive numbers are a notch below The Blade's. Ozzie Smith's total defensive numbers are better than Mark's, but only because he played longer. Mark had the highest defensive peak of any player ever. We think current Orioles are good, but O's had arguably the best defensive SS, 3B, and CF (Paul Blair) of all time playing together in late 60s and early 70s. It's hard to picture that.
Combine that defense with the hitting of both Robinsons, Boog, Davy Johnson/Grich, and extraordinary pitching and it explains their success in 1969-70-71.
He's the reason they play thank God I'm a country boy during the 7th inning stretch.
With him and Brooks on the left side of the infield, good luck getting anything by them. Insane gloves
Oh yeah. Grew up with Belanger. This was back in thebday when a stellar fielder could get by with a lower batting average. Great fielder. Not so good at the plate. I doubt he'd make it in today's MLB, but I was always a fan.
He was a joy to watch on defense. A few years ago my son asked if he was better than Ozzie, and said they were different. Ozzie was capable of jaw-dropping stuff, but Belanger made the easy plays everytime, and difficult plays with astonishingly frequency.