Tim Belcher

Tim Belcher is a retired Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. He won The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award in 1988 for the National League. He was also the pitching coach for The Cleveland Indians. During his 14-year baseball career, Belcher pitched from 1987-2000 for seven different ball-clubs: the Los Angeles Dodgers (1987-1991), Cincinnati Reds (1992-1993), Chicago White Sox (1993), Detroit Tigers (1994), Seattle Mariners (1995), Kansas City Royals (1996-1998), and Anaheim Angels (1999-2000). Tim Belcher played high school baseball at Highland High School and intercollegiate varsity baseball at Mount Vernon Nazarene College in Mount Vernon, Ohio. He was the first draft pick in the 1983 Major League Baseball Draft, selected by the Minnesota Twins. However, he refused to sign with the Twins, and instead was selected in the 1984 supplemental draft by the New York Yankees. He was picked up by the Oakland Athletics in the compensation pool. After climbing through the A's system to Triple-A, he was traded to Los Angeles on September 3, 1987. He made his MLB debut on September 6 as a Dodger. Belcher was a member of the 1988 Dodgers team that won the World Series, defeating the Oakland Athletics. Belcher won one game in the World Series after winning twice in the National League Championship Series. The next year he led the National League with 10 complete games and MLB with eight shutouts. However, his stay in Los Angeles proved brief, as he was traded to the Reds in 1991. He tied a career high with 15 wins for the Reds, but was dealt again, this time to the White Sox in the middle of the 1993 season at the trading deadline. He won Game Four of the American League Championship Series in relief against the Toronto Blue Jays. Filing for free agency, he signed with the Tigers for 1994, but led the American League in losses with 15 that strike-shortened year. Belcher played his final game on September 30, 2000. He retired in spring training in 2001, his effectiveness gone following a series of injuries. On November 6, 2009, Belcher was named pitching coach for the Cleveland Indians after spending eight seasons in the Indians organization as a Special Assistant to Baseball Operations. In September 2015, Belcher resigned his position as pitching coach.