Mark Belanger

Lore & Background

Belanger was born on June 8, 1944, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, of French-Canadian and Italian-American descent. He attended Pittsfield High School, where he played baseball and basketball. On the basketball court, he became the school's first 1,000-point scorer, scoring 1,455 points in three years. He led his team to the 1962 Western Massachusetts championship game and a 59-10 record over those three years.

He was recruited by the Orioles as an amateur and signed for $35,000 shortly after turning 18. He spent 1963 in the U.S. Air National Guard, and returned to the Orioles minor league system in 1964. He took over as the Orioles' regular shortstop in late 1966 from future Hall of Famer Luis Aparicio. Belanger was nicknamed "The Blade" because of his tall, narrow and angular frame—6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and 170 pounds (77 kg).

He won eight AL Gold Gloves (1969, 1971, and 1973–78). He was also named to the All-Star team in 1976. Belanger was granted free agency and signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 1982 season; he retired at the end of the season. After his playing career, he became an official with the Major League Baseball Players Association.

In 1983, Belanger was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame. In 2019, Belanger was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame.

Reader's Guide

Belanger was a defensive standout, winning eight Gold Glove Awards between 1969 and 1978, leading the American League in assists and fielding percentage three times each; he retired with the highest career fielding percentage by an AL shortstop (.977). In defensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Belanger is tied with Ozzie Smith and Joe Tinker for most times as league leader with six. He set franchise records for career games, assists, and double plays as a shortstop, all of which were later broken by Cal Ripken Jr. Despite his reputation as one of the best fielding shortstops in Major League history, Belanger was known as a poor hitter.

In his 18 seasons, he hit only 20 home runs and had a lifetime batting average of .228. His .228 lifetime batting average is the third-lowest of any Major League player with more than 5,000 career at bats. He hit a rare home run in the first American League Championship Series game ever played in 1969. After uncharacteristically hitting .333 in the 1970 ALCS, his contributions led to the Orioles' 1970 World Series victory.

Belanger played in six ALCS series and set league playoff records for career games, putouts, assists, total chances, and double plays by a shortstop.

Did You Know?

• Belanger spent 1963 in the U.S. Air National Guard, not the U.S. Army Reserve.
• Belanger hit his first Major League home run at Yankee Stadium on May 14, 1967, off Yankees' ace Mel Stottlemyre, in the same game that Mickey Mantle hit his 500th home run.
• On June 3, 1977, Belanger was part of what sportswriter Fred Rothenberg called 'one of the strangest triple plays in baseball history.'