Tim Belcher
Born: 10/19/1961 in Mount Gilead, OH, USA
MLB Debut: 1987-09-06 | Final Game: 2000-09-30
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 210 lbs
Full name: Timothy Wayne Belcher
Biography
Tim Belcher was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1987 to 2000. Born in 1961, Belcher established himself as a reliable starting pitcher during his career, amassing a record of 146 wins against 140 losses. He finished his career with an earned run average (ERA) of 4.16, demonstrating consistent performance on the mound over more than a decade in the league. Belcher recorded a total of 1,519 strikeouts, showcasing his ability to overpower batters with a dynamic pitching style.
Throughout his time in the majors, Belcher played for several teams, including the Cincinnati Reds, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Kansas City Royals, among others. His contributions were particularly notable in the late 1980s and 1990s, an era marked by a shift toward a more offensive game. Despite the challenges of competing against high-scoring lineups, Belcher’s durability and skill allowed him to maintain a long and productive career. He also recorded five saves, indicating his versatility as a pitcher capable of closing out games when needed. Belcher's impact on the game was felt not only in terms of his individual statistics but also through his leadership and presence on the mound.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 146 | 140 | 394 | 373 | 42 | 18 | 5 | 2442.7 | 2423 | 1130 | 264 | 860 | 1519 | 4.16 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | LAD | NL | 4 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34.0 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 23 | 2.38 | - |
| 1988 | LAD | NL | 12 | 6 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 179.7 | 143 | 58 | 51 | 152 | 2.91 | - |
| 1989 | LAD | NL | 15 | 12 | 39 | 30 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 230.0 | 182 | 72 | 80 | 200 | 2.82 | - |
| 1990 | LAD | NL | 9 | 9 | 24 | 24 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 153.0 | 136 | 68 | 48 | 102 | 4.00 | - |
| 1991 | LAD | NL | 10 | 9 | 33 | 33 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 209.3 | 189 | 61 | 75 | 156 | 2.62 | - |
| 1992 | CIN | NL | 15 | 14 | 35 | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 227.7 | 201 | 99 | 80 | 149 | 3.91 | 1232.3 |
| 1993 | CHW | AL | 3 | 5 | 12 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 71.7 | 64 | 35 | 27 | 34 | 4.40 | - |
| 1993 | CIN | NL | 9 | 6 | 22 | 22 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 137.0 | 134 | 68 | 47 | 101 | 4.47 | 1586.2 |
| 1994 | DET | AL | 7 | 15 | 25 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 162.0 | 192 | 106 | 78 | 76 | 5.89 | -3702.9 |
| 1995 | SEA | AL | 10 | 12 | 28 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 179.3 | 188 | 90 | 88 | 96 | 4.52 | -2392.5 |
| 1996 | KCR | AL | 15 | 11 | 35 | 35 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 238.7 | 262 | 104 | 68 | 113 | 3.92 | - |
| 1997 | KCR | AL | 13 | 12 | 32 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 213.3 | 242 | 119 | 70 | 113 | 5.02 | - |
| 1998 | KCR | AL | 14 | 14 | 34 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 234.0 | 247 | 111 | 73 | 130 | 4.27 | - |
| 1999 | LAA | AL | 6 | 8 | 24 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 132.3 | 168 | 99 | 46 | 52 | 6.73 | - |
| 2000 | LAA | AL | 4 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 40.7 | 45 | 31 | 22 | 22 | 6.86 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 394 | 388 | 19 | 48 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 2 | 147 | 0.124 | 0.137 | 0.162 | 0.299 | -3177.8 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | LAD | NL | 6 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1988 | LAD | NL | 36 | 56 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0.071 | -622.5 |
| 1989 | LAD | NL | 39 | 70 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 0.100 | -734.0 |
| 1990 | LAD | NL | 24 | 43 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.163 | 0.0 |
| 1991 | LAD | NL | 33 | 67 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0.119 | -693.7 |
| 1992 | CIN | NL | 35 | 76 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 0.105 | -787.4 |
| 1993 | CHW | AL | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1993 | CIN | NL | 22 | 50 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1994 | DET | AL | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | SEA | AL | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1996 | KCR | AL | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1997 | KCR | AL | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1998 | KCR | AL | 34 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1999 | LAA | AL | 24 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | LAA | AL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.125 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | ALCS | SEA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1995 | ALDS2 | SEA | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1993 | ALCS | CHA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1988 | NLCS | LAN | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.125 |
| 1988 | WS | LAN | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 37.7 | 38 | 21 | 20 | 28 | 5.02 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | ALCS | SEA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5.7 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 6.35 |
| 1995 | ALDS2 | SEA | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.3 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6.23 |
| 1993 | ALCS | CHA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2.45 |
| 1988 | NLCS | LAN | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15.3 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 16 | 4.11 |
| 1988 | WS | LAN | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8.7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 6.23 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 394 | 373 | 212 | 249 | 19 | 31 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | LAN | P | 6 | 5 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | LAN | P | 36 | 27 | 14 | 19 | 0 | 2 |
| 1989 | LAN | P | 39 | 30 | 21 | 18 | 3 | 3 |
| 1990 | LAN | P | 24 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 1 |
| 1991 | LAN | P | 33 | 33 | 11 | 20 | 2 | 2 |
| 1992 | CIN | P | 35 | 34 | 23 | 27 | 1 | 2 |
| 1993 | CHA | P | 12 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
| 1993 | CIN | P | 22 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| 1994 | DET | P | 25 | 25 | 18 | 25 | 4 | 5 |
| 1995 | SEA | P | 28 | 28 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 5 |
| 1996 | KCA | P | 35 | 35 | 19 | 32 | 2 | 4 |
| 1997 | KCA | P | 32 | 32 | 23 | 22 | 0 | 1 |
| 1998 | KCA | P | 34 | 34 | 18 | 17 | 2 | 3 |
| 1999 | ANA | P | 24 | 24 | 11 | 15 | 2 | 1 |
| 2000 | ANA | P | 9 | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 394 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Pitcher of the Month | September |
| 1989 | Player of the Week | Week of 1989-08-26 |
| 1988 | TSN Rookie Pitcher of the Year |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | ANA | AL | $4,600,000 |
| 1999 | ANA | AL | $4,650,000 |
| 1998 | KCA | AL | $2,300,000 |
| 1997 | KCA | AL | $2,300,000 |
| 1996 | KCA | AL | $1,400,000 |
| 1995 | SEA | AL | $580,000 |
| 1994 | DET | AL | $3,400,000 |
| 1993 | CIN | NL | $3,825,000 |
| 1992 | CIN | NL | $2,100,000 |
| 1991 | LAN | NL | $900,000 |
| 1990 | LAN | NL | $450,000 |
| 1989 | LAN | NL | $225,000 |
| 1988 | LAN | NL | $78,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $26,808,000 | ||
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Vernon Nazarene University | Mount Vernon | OH | 1981, 1982, 1983 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Cy Young Award | NL | 6th | 4.0 | 120 | 0 |
| 1988 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 3rd | 35.0 | 120 | 3 |