Albert Belle stuns Indians with visit

Bere then couldn’t resist doing his own imitation of Belle’s swing before paying the former Indians a huge compliment.

“I never saw the ‘27 Yankees play,” he said. “But the ‘95 Indians, whoa.”

Belle bolted Cleveland as a free agent after the 1996 season, signing a five-year, $56 million deal with the Chicago White Sox. Four years later, after taking a swing in camp with the Orioles, he was done.

“When I got hurt in 2000 and couldn’t play in 2001, I was pretty devastated,” said Belle, who finished with 381 homers, 1,239 RBIs and a career .295 average. “I didn’t watch any highlights or baseball until Game 7 when the Diamondbacks beat the Yankees. That was it. I watch highlights every now and then. I keep up with it now and watch a few games here and there.”

After leaving Cleveland, Belle was vilified by Indians fans, who showered him with fake money in left field when he returned to Jacobs Field for the first time.

He hasn’t been back since, but would like to return one day.

Time has changed him, healed him.

This late-winter reunion made him nostalgic, but not regretful.

“I look back and I wouldn’t trade anything in the world to do it all over again,” he said. “There’s some great memories and it’s good to see the guys. I had a nice career. I wish it had been longer, but I’m happy with the way things worked out.”

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