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'I need a miracle' Report: Belle to announce retirement by Thursday
Updated: Wednesday March 07, 2001 11:13 AM
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - The Baltimore Orioles could learn as early as Thursday whether Albert Belle will be able to play baseball again. The Orioles' flagship radio station said Tuesday night that Belle will retire this week, but his agent said the ailing outfielder will consult with doctors before making a final decision. WBAL radio, citing unidentified sources close to the situation, reported Belle will announce his retirement by Thursday. Belle has missed the Orioles' first five exhibition games because of a degenerative hip. He is guaranteed $13 million in each of the final three seasons of his $65 million, five-year contract, with $3 million a year deferred. He must be put on the disabled list and deemed unable to play by a physician before an insurance company would pay the Orioles. Seventy percent of his salary is covered by insurance, Baltimore-area newspapers have reported.
Regardless, Belle's agent said the slugger will find out if his hip will allow him to play before deciding whether to leave the game. "At this point, all I can say is he plans on being seen by doctors in the next day or so," Arn Tellem said Tuesday night. "We're waiting to get the doctors' advice, and then we'll decide." Tellem said Belle will be examined by Dr. Michael Jacobs, the Orioles' team physician, and an outside doctor. Asked about the retirement report, Tellem said: "It's way premature. People are speculating. It's unfair to Albert. He has to see what the doctors say and then think about what his options are." Belle, 34, probably will be examined in Florida, Tellem said. "He's in considerable pain," Tellem said, "obviously extremely disappointed that he isn't able to play at the level he's accustomed to and that he was preparing for this spring. For a man of his tremendous skills and talents, it's extremely disappointing and frustrating." Earlier in the day, Orioles manager Mike Hargrove said Belle appeared near to reaching the conclusion that his arthritic right hip will not allow him to play again. "We're much farther down that road than we were two days ago, much farther down that road," Hargrove said. The injury, which first occurred last summer, has left Belle with a nasty limp and the feeling that his baseball playing days are done. Belle, who told USA Today on Monday that he needs a "miracle" to return, refused comment Tuesday. There wasn't much to say, given that his condition has not changed. "Nothing new, nothing different," Hargrove said. "I talked to Albert this morning and he said it's the same as it has been." So the Orioles will wait for the saga to reach a conclusion. Either Belle attempts to play, or he admits that he can't. "There's nothing else we can do. I don't know how else to go about it," Hargrove said. Belle missed 20 games last September with an inflamed bursa sac in the right hip. He finished with a .281 batting average and 103 RBIs, but his 23 homers ended a streak of eight straight seasons with at least 30. He hit .248 with five homers and 42 RBIs in his last 65 games, and his hip has since worsened. "We've had five games and he hasn't played in any of them. That speaks for itself," said Syd Thrift, the Orioles vice president of baseball operations. The Orioles are willing to wait for a week or two, but if Belle continues his struggle to return, the team eventually will have to move forward with plans for a season without him. "We're trying to find a resolution as to where he is, physically," Thrift said. Resting him for several days is not an option. Baltimore also doesn't plan to use him exclusively as a designated hitter. "It's hard to look at this as a rehabilitation process. It's not. He's rehabilitated his hip all winter," Hargrove said. "Can he DH? Yeah, but probably after two days he'd right back in the same spot. That's where we're at. I don't know that rest will make this better."
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