Let’s take a look at another one of the worst free agent fleeces in MLB history:  The Orioles signing of Albert Belle.  This fleece may have changed the trajectory of an entire team’s history.  (By the way, you can always take a look at all of our inductees into the Greatest Moments in Fleece History by clicking on the feature to the left). 

Setting the Stage: The 1998 Orioles were fresh off a trip to the ALCS in 1997. They were lead by stars like Eric Davis, Rafael Palmeiro*, Cal Ripken, Roberto Alomar, Scott Erickson and Mike Mussina.  However, the team finished with a miserable 79-83 record.  This was good for 4th place in the American League East, despite a top payroll.  In short, it was a team that flat out underachieved that year.  Immediately after the season, General Manager Pat Gillick resigned.  New GM Frank Wren, formerly an assistant GM under Dave Dombrowski in Florida, was brought in by owner Peter Angelos to finish the job of bringing a title to Baltimore. 

The Date: December 21, 1998 

The Players: Orioles owner Peter Angelos and GM Frank Wren (The Fleecees), and slugger Albert Belle and his agent, Arn Tellem (The Fleecers).

The Fleece: Albert Belle signs a 5-year, $65 million deal with the Baltimore Orioles making him the highest paid player in the league.  The signing comes a few months after Belle opted out of his 5-year, $55M deal with the White Sox signed in 1996.  In that deal,  Belle exercised a clause that allowed him to opt out once he was no longer among the top 3 highest paid players in the league. 

The Result: Belle had a typical Albert Belle year in his first year in Baltimore (1999), mashing .297/.400/.541 with 37 homers and 117 RBI. (The Orioles finished in 4th place again, though).  Belle followed that up in 2000 (4th place again for Baltimore) by hitting .281/.342/.474, but was only able to play in 141 games. 

But that was the end of the Albert Belle era.  Tragically, just two years into his mammoth 5-year deal, Albert Belle was forced to retire due to an arthritic hip that had become so painful he could no longer sit.  The Orioles were effectively fleeced. 

Thankfully for owner Peter Angelos, his insurance company picked up the tab for Albert’s remaining salary (though the O’s had to keep him on the roster for the remaining 3 years), minimizing the fleece financially.  But this fleece played much more of a mental role on Angelos. The Belle fleece caused Angelos to become even more hands on.  After he made the deal - and much especially after the deal became a fleece in 2001 - Angelos began to constantly tinker with the front office.  Wren was fired after just one season (He is now the GM of the Braves).  His replacement, Syd Thrift, lasted just a few years before giving way to Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan and now Andy MacPhail (team COO).  There has also been a similar revolving door for managers - from Mike Hargrove all the way to Sam Perlozzo.   But perhaps the most significant effect of the Belle fleece has been Angelos’ refusal to make “the big deal” anymore, thus limiting his teams ability to break through in the American League East.  Sure, there have been deals for Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez, but for the most part, the Orioles have had a pattern of settling for the second tier players instead of reeling in top tier free agents.  Ironically, that crop of second tier talent that Angelos steers the team towards in order to avoid being fleeced often results in more fleeces: Sammy Sosa, Kevin Millar, Danys Baez, Kris Benson, Aubrey Huff, etc.  And it looks like Angelos’ ”thriftiness” may now cost the Orioles their young left handed ace Erik Bedard as well.

In conclusion, the injury to Albert Belle was a tragedy that may have very well cut short a Hall of Fame career, and definitely resulted in Peter Angelos and the Orioles being fleeced.  The signing is a watershed moment in Orioles history - it is the point that separates the successes of the mid-90’s and the now decade-long streak of losing.  Yes, the Albert Belle fleece was a fleece that keeps fleecing - A truly great moment in fleece history.

On a sidenote, in that fall of 1998, White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf had the choice to raise Belle’s salary by a mere $1,416,667 per season to prevent him from opting out.  Reinsdorf obviously opted not to pay Belle, and was heavily criticized  for being cheap at the time.  As it turns out, Reinsdorf saved a boat load of cash and avoided the fleece! Well played, Jerry.

Filed under: Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, _Great Moments in Fleece History