Ronnie Belliard

Ronald Belliard (born April 7, 1975) is an American former professional baseball second baseman.

Belliard was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 8th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft.

Belliard played in the Brewers farm system from 1994 to 1999, winning Texas League All-Star honors in 1996 and in 1998 he was honored as a Triple-A All-Star, International League All-Star, Baseball America 1st Team Minor League All-Star and Brewers Minor League Player of the Year.

Ronnie amassed career-highs in hits (169), doubles (48) and RBI (70) and also set a new career-high with 12 HR. He finished 2nd in the American League with 48 doubles, which represented the highest total by an Indian since Albert Belle's 52 in 1995.

His .282 batting average at second base led all AL second basemen.

He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 to 2010 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Nationals and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He batted and threw right-handed.

Belliard was born in The Bronx, New York.

Belliard is born to Dominican parents, in Bronx New York.

Belliard attended Central High School in Miami, Florida.

He is a distant cousin of former major league shortstop Rafael Belliard.

He made his Major League debut on September 12, 1998, as a pinch runner against the Chicago Cubs and he got his first Major League hit in his first at-bat, as a pinch hitter, on September 16 against the Cincinnati Reds.

In, Belliard was named Milwaukee Brewers rookie player of the year.

After he began the season at Triple A Louisville, he was recalled on May 11.

He finished the season tops among National League rookies in almost every offensive category, including batting average (1st), runs batted in (6th), multi-hit games (4th), runs (6th), hits (4th), total bases (5th), doubles (2nd), triples (T-3rd), hitting streaks (T-5th), walks (1st), on-base percentage (1st), slugging percentage (3rd) and extra base hits (4th).

Ronnie hit his first Major league home run and drove in his first run with a solo shot May 15.

In, Belliard established career highs in several categories, including games (152), runs scored (83), hits (150) and doubles (30) while setting the Brewers' National League franchise record with career-high 9 triples.

saw Belliard set a career mark with 11 home runs and equaled a career-high with 30 doubles previously set in 2000.

Ronnie was Milwaukee's Opening Day second baseman.

In, Belliard played second base (49 games) and third base (42 games) for Milwaukee.

On January 17, 2003, Belliard was signed as a minor league free agent by the Colorado Rockies after being non-tendered by Milwaukee on December 20 and became the first non-roster invitee in franchise history to start on Opening Day.

Belliard signed a one-year deal with the Cleveland Indians for the campaign.

In 2004 Belliard enjoyed a fine season from an offensive standpoint, stabilizing the second base position after the club experienced inconsistency at the position in 2003.

In 2005, Belliard collected new career-highs in homers (17) and RBI (78) as he finished 3rd among AL second basemen in RBI and doubles (36) and 4th in home runs.

He avoided arbitration and signed a 1-year contract on December 20 with a club option for 2006.

On July 30, 2006, Belliard was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for utility infielder Héctor Luna in a move designed to acquire for St. Louis an every-day second baseman for the stretch run, and to provide bench bat strength for Cleveland.

Belliard was a key part of the Cardinals' success in the 2006 National League Division Series when he hit .462 with two RBI and two runs scored.

The Cardinals defeated the San Diego Padres three games to one to advance to the National League Championship Series.

Belliard eventually won his first World Series ring when the Cardinals won the 2006 World Series, defeating the Detroit Tigers, four games to one.

At the end of the season, however, Belliard was not re-signed, and became a free agent.

Belliard signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on February 18,.

He was added to the Nationals' 40-man roster on March 22, 2007.

Following an Opening Day injury to shortstop Cristian Guzmán, second baseman Felipe López was moved to shortstop, while Belliard filled in at second base.

Guzmán came back in early May, but at the end of June suffered a season-ending injury putting Belliard back into the starting line-up.

By July 23 Belliard had appeared in 85 of the Nationals 98 games, batting .305, and signed a two-year $3.5 million extension with the Nationals.

He was viewed as a valuable veteran, capable of starting or as a utility infielder.

Belliard hit a game-ending 2-run home run shot off of closer George Sherrill with 2 outs and 2 strikes in 12th inning, erasing a 2–1 deficit on June 29, 2008, against the Baltimore Orioles.

On August 22, 2008, Belliard was a triple away from the cycle as he singled, doubled twice, and homered in a Nationals 13–5 victory over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

His 169 hits ranked 2nd and his 69 RBI placed 4th among league 2B.

Belliard earned his first trip to the All-Star Game after hitting .304 (103–339) in the first half with 5 home-runs and 37 RBI in 84 games (was voted in by players).