If you look at the Wikipedia article on Albert Belle you will find that the section on his controversies is longer than his accomplishments.  He fought with sportswriters, with fans, with other players and his temper was legendary.  So was his prowess with a bat.

Albert Belle may have been the most feared sluggers of the 1990’s.  He was the first 50/50 man (doubles and home runs) in baseball.  He pounded out extra base hits by the truckload, and was able to generate a decent Batting Average.  He was a constant Triple Crown threat as he was to win the MVP Award.  In fact, Belle was jobbed out of the 1995 MVP to Mo Vaughan likely due to the hatred of the baseball media towards him.

Albert Belle retired at the age of 34 due to a degenerative hip, though he quit his baseball career before his numbers declined to an unproductive state.  The bad will that the writers had towards Belle meant that he would have had to accumulate numbers that they could not ignore.  As he did not hit them, they dropped him off the ballot after two years.  If the writers only looked at what he did on the field instead of off of it (as they should), it is hard for them to justify why his vote tally was so low.

The Bullet Points:

Country of Origin:

Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Eligible Since:

2006

Position:

OF, DH

Played for:

Cleveland Indians

Chicago White Sox

Baltimore Orioles

Major Accolades and Awards:

5 Time All Star (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 & 1997)

Silver Slugger (5) (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 & 1998)

Highest Slugging Percentage (2) (AL) (1995 & 1998)

Most Runs Scored (1) (AL) (1995)

Most Total Bases (3) (AL) 1994, 1995 & 1998)

Most Doubles (1) (AL) (1995)

Most Home Runs (1) (AL) (1995)

Most Runs Batted In (3) (AL) (1993, 1995 & 1996)

Highest OPS (1) (AL) (1998)

Other Points of Note:

Top Ten MVP Finishes:

(AL: 1993, 7^th), (AL: 1994, 3^rd), (AL: 1995, 2^nd), (AL: 1996, 3^rd) & (AL: 1998, 8^th)

The Sporting News Player of the Year (1995)

3 Top Ten Finishes (Batting Average)

2 Top Ten Finishes (On Base Percentage)

6 Top Ten Finishes (Slugging Percentages)

4 Top Ten Finishes (Runs Scored)

4 Top Ten Finishes (Hits)

7 Top Ten Finishes (Total Bases)

4 Top Ten Finishes (Doubles)

8 Top Ten Finishes (Home Runs)

8 Top Ten Finishes (Runs Batted In)

2 Top Ten Finishes (Walks)

3 Top Ten Finishes (WAR for Position Players)

5 Top Ten Finishes (OPS)

Notable All Time Rankings:

16. Slugging Percentage: .564

35. OPS: .933

60. Home Runs: 381

Vote Percentage Received for the Hall of Fame:

2006: 7.7

2007: 3.5

Should Be Inducted As A: