After climbing through the A's system to Triple-A, he was traded to Los Angeles on September 3, 1987, as the "player to be named later" in the Rick Honeycutt transaction. He made his MLB debut on September 6 as a Dodger.[2] Belcher was a member of the 1988 Dodgers team that won the World Series, defeating the Oakland Athletics. Belcher won one game in the World Series after winning twice in the National League Championship Series. In 1989, he led the National League with 10 complete games and tied (with Roger Clemens, of the American League) for the MLB lead in total shutouts with eight, while placing in the top ten in wins and ERA. His 1989 shutout total has not since been equaled in MLB.
However, his stay in Los Angeles proved brief, as he was traded to the Reds in 1991 as a part of the Eric Davis multi-player transaction. He tied a career high with 15 wins for the Reds, but was dealt again, this time to the White Sox in the middle of the 1993 season at the trading deadline. He won Game Four of the American League Championship Series in relief against the Toronto Blue Jays. Filing for free agency, he signed with the Tigers for 1994, but led the American League in losses with 15 that strike-shortened year.
He returned in 1995 to the Reds on a one-year minor-league contract, but was soon dealt by them a second time, this time in May to the Mariners. New York Yankees superstar shortstop Derek Jeter got his first major league hit off Belcher in the Kingdome on May 30, 1995. At the end of the regular season, Belcher lost two post-season games, the only two playoff losses he suffered in his career; after Game 2 of the 1995 American League Division Series, he raged in the locker room area and assaulted a cameraman for filming him after giving up a game-winning home run to Yankee catcherJim Leyritz. Again becoming a free agent, he signed with the Royals for the 1996 season, spending the next three years with Kansas City and leading the team in wins each season.
On June 5, 1999, Belcher was involved in an on-field brawl at Dodger Stadium. At the time a member of the Anaheim Angels, Belcher was involved in an altercation with then-Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Chan Ho Park. Park claimed that Belcher had tagged him too hard on the just-concluded play and asked him about the incident. Park accused Belcher of making racist comments before his attack on Belcher.[3]
Belcher played his final game on September 30, 2000. He retired in spring training in 2001, his effectiveness gone following a series of injuries. He later served as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations in the Cleveland Indians organization, and was the team's major-league pitching coach during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.[4]
References
^"Tim Belcher". MLB Advanced Media, L.P. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
