Mark Bellhorn
Bellhorn with the San Diego Padres in 2006
Colorado Rockies — No. --
Second baseman
Bats: Switch	Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 10, 1997 for the Oakland Athletics
Career statistics (through 2008 season)
Batting average	.230
Home runs	69
On-base percentage	.341
Teams
Oakland Athletics (1997-1998, 2000-2001) Chicago Cubs (2002-2003) Colorado Rockies (2003, 2009-present) Boston Red Sox (2004-2005) New York Yankees (2005) San Diego Padres (2006) Cincinnati Reds (2007)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (2004)

Mark Christian Bellhorn (born August 23 1974 in Boston, Massachusetts) is a Major League Baseball second baseman for the Colorado Rockies organization. He has played in the majors for the Oakland Athletics (1997-1998, 2000-2001), Chicago Cubs (2002-2003), Colorado Rockies (2003), Boston Red Sox (2004-2005), New York Yankees (2005), San Diego Padres (2006), and Cincinnati Reds (2007). He is a switch-hitter and throws right-handed. He graduated from Oviedo High School located in Oviedo, Florida.

[edit] Career

After playing college ball at Auburn University, Bellhorn broke in the majors with Oakland Athletics in 1997. That year he managed a .228 batting average with six home runs and 19 runs batted in. Over the next three seasons with the Athletics he saw only limited playing time, batting .131 with one homer and five RBI.

In 2002, Bellhorn was traded to the Chicago Cubs and hit .258 with 27 home runs and 56 RBI. On August 29 2002, Bellhorn became the first player in National League history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate in the same inning, doing so in the Cubs' ten–run 4th inning at Miller Park. Bellhorn also tied a team record with five RBI in the inning. His 2002 campaign was a record-setting season for the Cubs: his 27 home runs was the most-ever by a Cubs switch-hitter, and he became the first player in Cubs history to hit a home run from all four infield positions.^[1]

On June 20 2003, he was traded to the Colorado Rockies, and finished the year hitting .221 with two home runs and 26 RBI.

In 2004, Bellhorn was signed by the Boston Red Sox as a utility infielder; however, he became the regular second baseman after Pokey Reese and Nomar Garciaparra suffered early-season injuries. He proceeded to have the best batting average of his career, hitting .264 with 17 home runs and 82 RBI. Despite leading the league in strikeouts (177), Bellhorn was among the league leaders in walks (88, 3rd), pitches seen per at bat, Batting Average with Runners in Scoring Position, and on-base percentage (.373, first among AL second baseman). Nearly half of his 2004 plate appearances resulted in a strikeout, walk or home run.

In 2005, Bellhorn struggled, registering a lower batting average and dramatically increasing his strikeouts. The Red Sox eventually released him. Bellhorn signed with the New York Yankees days later.

He spent a year with Joe Torre's team, and in 2006 he joined the San Diego Padres.

In 2007, Bellhorn signed a minor-league deal with the Cincinnati Reds with an invitation as a non-roster player to the Reds' spring training camp. He was then optioned to their Triple-A affiliate, the Louisville Bats, and a few days later he accepted the minor-league assignment.^[2]

On August 12 2007, the Reds designated Bellhorn for assignment to make room for Josh Hamilton, who was coming off the 15-day disabled list. On October 12 2007, Bellhorn refused his outright assignment to the minors, becoming a free agent. In 2008, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was assigned to their Double-A affiliate, the Jacksonville Suns. After a couple of months with the Suns, he was released by the Dodgers on July 24 2008.

In February 2009, Bellhorn signed a minor-league contract with his former team, the Colorado Rockies.

[edit] 2004 postseason

For the first seven postseason games of his career, Bellhorn had two hits in 25 at-bats (.080); however, his resurgence started when he broke up Mike Mussina's perfect game in the 7th inning of Game 1. Bellhorn then hit a three-run homer off Jon Lieber to give the Red Sox a 4-2 victory over the Yankees in Game 6 of the ALCS. He also homered in Game 7 of the ALCS, sending the ball high and clanging it off the right-field foul pole.

Boston won Game 1 in the World Series, thanks to Bellhorn's eighth-inning two-run home run off Julián Tavárez (again, hitting a ball off the foul pole, this time Pesky's Pole at Fenway Park) to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-9. In doing so, Bellhorn became the first second baseman ever to homer in three consecutive postseason games.^[3] In Game 2, he hit a two-run double to help the Sox pull away to a 4-1 lead in an eventual 6-2 victory. The Red Sox went on to win the World Series in a four-game sweep of the Cardinals.

In fourteen post-season games, Bellhorn hit three doubles and three home runs with eight runs and eight RBI. He hit a .191 batting average (9-for-44). His on-base percentage was .397, slugging average .447, and OPS .844.

[edit] Personal life

Bellhorn's younger brother, Todd, pitched in the New York Mets' minor-league system from 1998 to 2000 and is now a youth pastor in Florida.^[4]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• St. Luke School page'
• MarkBellhorn.net
• Sons of Sam Horn - profile