Mark Bellhorn   |   Major Leaguer   1997-2007

[1995] - 1st team College All-American SS, Southeastern Conference All-Star SS

Bellhorn was originally drafted by the Padres in the 37th round by the Padres in 1992 out of High School but he elected to play baseball at Auburn University and he went on to help the Tigers to a College World Series appearance in 1994 as well as 2 trips to the regionals. After hitting .342 with 12 homers and 60 rbis in 1995, Bellhorn was named an All-American. Following his 1995 season, Bellhorn was taken in the 2nd round by the Oakland A's.

Mark bellhorn spent the first part of his career as an under-rated on base machine. He put up good obp numbers in the minors and showed decent power, slugging 27 homers over parts of 3 years but it was his 1997 season at Edmonton that had the Oakland Athletics standing at attention. He hit .328 and had 64 walks in only 271 at bats for an on base clip of .470

His first opportunity with the Athletics in 1997 was less than expected. He hit .224 but with his high walk-rate, he put up an OBP of .324, almost 100 points higher than his batting average. This was how Mark's career would go for the next 4 or 5 seasons as he put up odd numbers in the minors and was given small opportunities to prove himself in the majors.

After finally being traded to the Cubs by the Athletics in 2002, Bellhorn played an entire major league season, hitting 27 home runs for the Cubs and posting an OBP of 374 and a solid OPS of 886. But this only lasted one year for Mark as his 2003 was more of the same as he slipped back to his usual low batting average.

Luckily for Bellhorn, the Red Sox looking for high OBP, nabbed him from Colorado and made him their regular 2b and batted him second for most of the season. He ended up being an integral part of the World Series winning team and fit in perfectly with the team's scrappy scraggly personna. He hit home runs in 3 consecutive playoff games, helping the Red Sox to get past the Yankees in game 6 and 7 of the ALCS and helping to give the Red Sox a good start in game 1 of the World Series against the Cardinals.

Bellhorn is an average fielder and an intelligent base runner and is sometimes considered to be a scrappy player. He doesn't hurt himself in the field but he has been subject to late inning replacements throughout his career. He can play almost anywhere on the field. He strikes out more than almost anyone in the game and has odd statistics in that his career batting average is 100 points lower than his career on base percentage. Bellhorn also endears himself to fans with his underdog demeanor and humble exterior. He is a prototypical Moneyball player where his statistical output goes far beyond his mediocre batting averages.

His success in the 2004 World Series earned him a massive raise for the 2005 season (2.75 million from 400k) and even higher expectations. After hitting only .216 for the Red Sox through August, the Red Sox released him and he was subsequently snatched up by the arch-rival Yankees, probably as more of a gesture in competition rather than attempting to improve their ballclub as Bellhorn had been used sparingly after signing in the Bronx.

Notes: Bellhorn became the first player in National League history to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' 10–run 4th inning at Wrigley Field...Brother of Todd Bellhorn....Member of the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox in 2004....Played high school basketball in Florida...His father, Ted, is a professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Tennessee

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