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 Angry Albert Belle goes head-to-head with Miller after being pulled
Posted: Thursday June 10, 1999 11:23 AM
MIAMI (AP) -- Orioles slugger Albert Belle and manager Ray Miller faced off in the dugout after Miller took Belle out of a game against the Florida Marlins. After failing to run out a slow grounder with two out in the ninth inning and going 0-5, Belle took his place in the outfield in the bottom of the ninth. Miller had already decided to take out Belle, inserting Rich Amaral in the outfield and summoning left-handed pitcher Arthur Rhodes from the bullpen. Belle didn't notice the move until he was standing in right field, waiting for someone to bring his glove and cap. He jogged to the dugout, and as a Florida batter led off, television cameras captured Belle yelling at Miller, who waved him away. Jeff Reboulet and Harold Baines stepped in front of Belle. Miller defended the move later. "What happens internally stays internally and it will be taken care of internally. It's the same as a clubhouse meeting or anything else. I plan to handle it the same way," he said. Miller said the decision to use Amaral had nothing to do with Belle not running hard on the grounder. "That had no play in it," he said. "Rich Amaral knew he was going in if Albert made the last out." "I was doing what every National League manager does when he's only got one solid pitcher rested and a couple guys on fumes. You take the last [batter] out and hope your closer can do the job. If he doesn't, at least you have a little breathing room if they happen to tie it." Belle ordered reporters away with profanities after the game. He is not having a good season, with only one home run in his last 21 games.
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