Albert Belle knows a thing or two about hitting, and he has some questions about the way the game is being taught today. The former Cleveland slugger appeared on an ESPN Cleveland podcast this week and turned the conversation toward the Guardians’ approach at the plate. Belle pointed to the ongoing debate around launch angle and the modern emphasis on lifting the ball, and he wants to hear directly from the man in charge of Cleveland’s hitters. He specifically called out Guardians hitting coach Grant Fink and asked when the podcast could get him on to explain his philosophy.
Belle made it clear he is curious to hear what the current coaching staff is preaching.
“I’ve seen all these players that are kinda arguing about the launch angle. You know who Grant Fink is, right? He’s the Guardians’ [hitting coach]. When are we getting him on the podcast, and let’s hear him talk about hitting. I want to hear his approach to hitting. Let’s see what he has to say because we have all these sabermetrics analysts guys who never played the game and never had success in the big leagues, let’s hear what they have to say and why should these hitters be swinging and hitting home runs and not have a lot of success,” Belle said.
“We have all these sabermetrics analysts guys who never played the game and never had success in the big leagues, let’s hear what they have to say,” – Albert Belle on the Guardians hitting approach.
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— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) October 14, 2026
Few people in Cleveland history have the credentials to make that kind of challenge. Belle was one of the most feared hitters of the 1990s and the centerpiece of the powerhouse lineups that carried Cleveland back to the World Series in 1995. That season, he became the first player in major league history to hit 50 home runs and 50 doubles in the same year, and he did it in a strike shortened season. He still ranks among the franchise’s top postseason home run hitters, with his six career playoff homers recently tied by José Ramírez.
His comments come at an interesting time for the Guardians’ offense. Cleveland struggled to score for much of the regular season, ranking 24th in the majors in runs per game, 26th in OPS and 27th in home runs. The Guardians were shut out sixteen times. That continued early in the postseason, when Cleveland scored just three runs and struck out 21 times while losing the first two games of the division series to the White Sox.
At the same time, there have been plenty of signs that the approach is working when it matters. From Aug. 1 through the end of the regular season, the Guardians ranked sixth in baseball in runs scored. They exploded for eighteen runs in Games 3 and 4 against Chicago, and they collected fourteen hits in a 7-3 win over the Rays in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Some of Cleveland’s best hitters, like Steven Kwan and Chase DeLauter, are known more for their discipline and contact than for chasing home runs. Kwan led the majors with a .353 average after the All-Star break, while DeLauter ranked among the best hitters in the league at avoiding swings and misses.
Game 2 against Tampa Bay was a reminder of the frustration Belle might be feeling. The Guardians put runners on base in five of Freddy Peralta’s six innings but stranded seven of them and scored just one run in a 3-1 loss.
It would certainly make for an entertaining conversation if Fink ever took Belle up on his offer. For now, the Guardians have more pressing matters. The best of seven series is tied at one game apiece, and Game 3 is set for Thursday at Progressive Field. Whatever the approach may be, Cleveland needs it to produce runs in front of the home crowd.
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