Belle Will Pay Visit to His Old Home

Albert Belle, who left the Indians for $55 million, is coming back to Cleveland an All-Star.

Belle, who will return to Jacobs Field in the uniform of the Chicago White Sox, led the list of reserves and pitchers announced Wednesday for All-Star game, which will be played Tuesday.

He will be reunited with Indian catcher Sandy Alomar Jr., chosen as a backup by AL manager Joe Torre.

Belle’s return to Cleveland is bound to be a big sideshow. When he came back for the first time, in June, Indian fan threw fake money at him and berated him throughout a three-game series.

Belle, fined for reacting with an obscene gesture, declined to comment on his selection.

Torre had a tough task in selecting a reserve first baseman--so he chose two: Oakland’s Mark McGwire, who leads the majors with 30 homers, and Chicago’s Frank Thomas, the AL’s leading hitter.

Left off was Cleveland’s Jim Thome, second in the balloting to New York’s Tino Martinez, and Boston’s Mo Vaughn, who is on the disabled list.

The Angels’ Jason Dickson and Boston infielder Nomar Garciaparra were the only rookies chosen.

AL East leader Baltimore, with three starters already on the team, contributed pitchers Mike Mussina and Randy Myers.

Torre offered a roster spot to Baltimore’s Jimmy Key, who pitched the Yankees to the World Series title in Game 6 last year, but Key is getting married during the All-Star break and declined the roster spot.

Also putting five players on the team was Seattle, which has pitcher Randy Johnson and infielder Joey Cora in addition to elected starters Ken Griffey Jr., Edgar Martinez and Alex Rodriguez.

The other Yankees added to the AL roster were outfielder Bernie Williams and pitchers David Cone and Mariano Rivera. Filling out Torre’s pitching staff were Cy Young Award winner Pat Hentgen and Toronto teammate Roger Clemens, Kansas City’s Jose Rosado, the Angels’ Jason Dickson and Detroit’s Justin Thompson.

Dickson and Boston infielder Nomar Garciaparra were the only rookies chosen. Also on the AL team for the first time were Cora, Rivera, Rosado, Thompson, Williams and Milwaukee infielder Jeff Cirillo. Minnesota’s lone representative is second baseman Chuck Knoblauch.

AL All-Stars

Starters and reserves for the 1997 American League All-Star team:

STARTERS

Position, Player, Team

1B, Tino Martinez, New York

2B, Roberto Alomar, Baltimore

3B, Cal Ripken Jr., Baltimore

SS, Alex Rodriguez, Seattle

DH, Edgar Martinez, Seattle

OF, Brady Anderson, Baltimore

OF, Ken Griffey Jr., Seattle

OF, David Justice, Cleveland

C, Ivan Rodriguez, Texas

*

RESERVES

Position, Player, Team

IF, Jeff Cirillo, Milwaukee

IF, Joey Cora, Seattle

IF, Nomar Garciaparra, Boston

IF, Chuck Knoblauch, Minnesota

IF, Mark McGwire, Oakland

IF, Frank Thomas, Chicago

OF, Albert Belle, Chicago

OF, Bernie Williams, New York

C, Sandy Alomar, Cleveland

*

PITCHERS

Roger Clemens, Toronto

David Cone, New York

Jason Dickson, Angels

Pat Hentgen, Toronto

Randy Johnson, Seattle

Mike Mussina, Baltimore

Randy Myers, Baltimore

Mariano Rivera, New York

Jose Rosado, Kansas City

Justin Thompson, Detroit