Rafael Leonidas Belliard Matias (born October 24, 1961) is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) from 1982 to 1998 with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. He was a member of Atlanta's

1995 World Series The 1995 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1995 Major League Baseball season, 1995 season. The 91st edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National Lea ...

winning team against the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. He served as the infield and first base coach for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

from 2006 to 2013.

Playing career

Belliard won a silver medal with the Dominican Republic at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games, officially the VIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as San Juan 1979, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization (PASO), and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to Jul ...

, then signed with the

as an amateur free agent in 1980. He played in the Pirates' minor-league system, reaching the Double-A level in 1982. He made his major-league debut as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

on September 6, 1982. It was not until 1986 that Belliard became a regular in the Pirates' lineup, batting .233 in 117 games. He remained a versatile yet seldom used player until 1990, when he left Pittsburgh and signed a free agent contract with the

. Belliard arrived in Atlanta just as the team was emerging as a

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

powerhouse. The team made

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

appearances in 1991 and 1992 before finally winning the championship in . Though he had appeared in only 75 games that season, Belliard played shortstop in all six of Atlanta's World Series games. Belliard made his final major-league appearance on April 9, 1998, in a 4–3 Braves win over the Pirates. He concluded his playing career with the

Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs The Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs were an independent baseball league team based in Albany, New York from 1995 to 2002. The team played at Heritage Park in Colonie. The Diamond Dogs competed in the Northeast League from 1995 to 1998 and then i ...

of the independent Northern League in 1999. Overall during his professional career, Belliard played in 464 minor-league games over seven seasons, batting .247, and played in 1155 major-league games over 17 seasons, batting .221 and hitting only two home runs. Despite being a weak hitter and below-average base stealer, he was an excellent and reliable fielder during his career.

Post-playing career

After his retirement as a player, Belliard served five seasons in the Braves' minor-league system as a roving fielding instructor. He was named infield coach for the

on October 11, 2005. He was a uniformed member of Detroit's major league coaching staff through the 2013 season. On December 5, 2019, Belliard was named a special assignment coach for the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Personal life

While coaching with Detroit, Belliard, his wife Leonora, and son Kevin resided in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

. His cousin Ronnie Belliard was also a major-league player.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belliard, Rafael 1961 births Living people Albany-Colonie Diamond Dogs players Alexandria Dukes players Atlanta Braves players Baseball players at the 1979 Pan American Games Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Detroit Tigers coaches Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gulf Coast Pirates players Harrisburg Senators players Hawaii Islanders players Lynn Pirates (1983) players Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic 20th-century Dominican Republic sportsmen Major League Baseball shortstops Pan American Games silver medalists in baseball Pan American Games silver medalists for the Dominican Republic Pan American Games baseball players for the Dominican Republic Pittsburgh Pirates players Richmond Braves players Shelby Pirates players Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games