Mark Belanger
| Mark Belanger | |||
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| Shortstop | |||
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Born: June 8, 1944 Pittsfield, Massachusetts |
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Died: October 6, 1998 (aged 54) New York City, New York |
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| MLB debut | |||
| August 7, 1965, for the Baltimore Orioles | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 2, 1982, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .228 | ||
| Hits | 1,316 | ||
| Runs batted in | 389 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998), nicknamed "The Blade," was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played almost his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles. A defensive standout, he won eight Gold Glove Awards between 1969 and 1978, leading the American League in assists and fielding percentage three times each, and retired with the highest career fielding average by an AL shortstop (.977). He set franchise records for career games, assists and double plays as a shortstop, all of which were later broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. After his playing career, he became an official with the Major League Baseball Players Association.
Belanger was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where 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. He was recruited by the Orioles as an amateur in 1962, and made his debut with the club on August 7, 1965.
He took over as the Orioles' regular shortstop in late 1967, and held the position for over a decade. Nicknamed "The Blade" because of his height of 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and weight of only 170 lb (77 kg), Belanger was known as a poor hitter. In 1970 he was a Triple Crown loser (finishing last in the TC categories). In his eighteen seasons in the major leagues, Belanger hit only 20 home runs, and had a lifetime batting average of .228, only topping the .230 mark over a full season three times; his .228 average is the third-lowest of any major league player with over 5000 career at bats, ahead of only George McBride (.218) and Ed Brinkman (.224), and the seventh-lowest of any non-catcher with at least 2500 at bats since 1920. His true contribution to the team was on defense, where he earned a reputation as one of the best fielding shortstops ever. Receiving the AL Gold Glove eight times (1969, 1971, 1973–78), he was also named to the All-Star team in 1976. Belanger joined a select group of shortstop-second baseman combinations who each won Gold Gloves in the same season while playing together: in 1969 and 1971 with Davey Johnson, and again with Bobby Grich each year between 1973 and 1976 inclusive. And with Brooks Robinson winning at third base every year through 1975, the left side of the Orioles' infield was seemingly impenetrable.
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