Buddy Bell

Buddy Bell
Bell with the Cleveland Indians,c. 1977
Third baseman/Manager
Born:(1951-08-27)August 27, 1951 Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,U.S.
Batted:Right Threw:Right
MLB debut
April 15, 1972, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
June 17, 1989, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.279
Hits	2,514
Home runs	201
Runs batted in	1,106
Managerial record	519–724
Winning %	.418
Teams
As player Cleveland Indians(1972–1978) Texas Rangers(1979–1985) Cincinnati Reds(1985–1988) Houston Astros(1988) Texas Rangers(1989) As manager Detroit Tigers(1996–1998) Colorado Rockies(2000–2002) Kansas City Royals(2005–2007) As coach Cleveland Indians(1994–1995,2003–2005)
Career highlights and awards
5×All-Star(1973,1980–1982,1984) 6×Gold Glove Award(1979–1984) Silver Slugger Award(1984) Texas Rangers Hall of Fame

David Gus"Buddy"Bell(born August 27, 1951) is anAmericanformerthird basemanandmanagerinMajor League Baseball(MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for theCincinnati Reds.

After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably theCleveland Indians,theTexas Rangers,and theCincinnati Reds,he managed theDetroit Tigers,Colorado RockiesandKansas City Royalsfor three seasons each and served as Vice President/Assistant General Manager for theChicago White Sox.He was a five-timeMLB All-Starand won six consecutiveRawlings Gold Glove Awardsfrom 1979–1984.

He is the son ofoutfielderGus Belland the father of former third basemenMikeandDavid Bell,making them one offive families to have three generations play in the Major Leagues.When David was named Reds manager in October 2018, he and Bell became the fourth father-son pair to serve as major league managers, joiningGeorgeandDick Sisler,BobandJoel Skinner,andBobandAaron Boone.

Career

Bell was born while his father was playing for thePittsburgh Pirates.He attendedMoeller High SchoolinCincinnati.He was drafted in 1969 by the Indians and was regarded as a promising prospect from the beginning. He first appeared in the Major Leagues with the Indians in1972,appearing mostly in the outfield as a rookie, but afterwards becoming a fixture at third base. The 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m), 185 lb (84 kg) Bell was a solid, but not overpowering, right-handed hitter on a mostly lackluster Indians team. He was named to theAll-Starteam in 1973.

After the1978season Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange forToby Harrah— another solid, veteran third baseman. Bell enjoyed his best season with the Rangers in1979,collecting 200hits,101RBI,and his firstGold Glove Award.From 1979 through 1984, Bell won theGold Glovefor third base in the American League. He also won theSilver Slugger Awardin 1984. He finished in the top ten in batting average in 1980 and 1984.

In fielding, Bell was spectacular and often played far off the third base line, taking many base hits from opposing batters. In Total zone runs (a defensive statistic) he is ninth all time (ahead of Willie Mays) and 2nd among all third baseman (behind Brooks Robinson). His Range factor (another defensive stat) is fifth all-time among third baseman. He was in the top 10 infielding percentage10 times and finished first three times.

In the middle of the1985season, Bell was sent to theCincinnati Reds,where his father had been a popular player in the 1950s. Buddy responded with two more solid years playing for second place teams under Pete Rose. In1986,he hit a career-high 20 home runs. In the1988season he began to fade and was traded to theHouston Astros.Bell was released in December and returned with the Rangers before the1989season, in which he appeared sparingly. In an 18-year career, Bell posted a.279batting averagewith 201home runsand 1106 RBI in 2405games.He won six Gold Gloves, and made five All-Star Game appearances.

Following retirement, Bell worked for several years as acoachfor the Reds, and from 1994-95 for the Indians. He managed theDetroit Tigersfrom 1996–98. He then managed theColorado Rockiesfrom2000through part of2002when he was fired in April after a 6–16 start. As a manager both for Detroit and Colorado, Bell compiled a 184–277 record.

In November2002,Bell returned to coaching for the Cleveland Indians. On May 31, 2005, the Kansas City Royals hired Bell as their manager, three weeks afterTony Peñaresigned. Bell won his first four games as a manager, becoming only the second Royals manager (afterWhitey Herzog) to do so and guiding the Royals to their first four-game winning streak since2003.

Bell took a medical leave of absence from the team on September 20, 2006, after a lump was discovered on his tonsils. Bell had experienced difficulty swallowing in the previous weeks,and went to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale,Arizona,following the advice of Royals medical staff. On August 1, 2007, Bell announced that he would not be returning to the Royals bench at the conclusion of the 2007 season. Bell stated that his decision was his own, not based on pressure from the Royals front office, and that he wished to spend more time with his family.

Managerial record

Team	From	To	Regular season record
			W	L	Win %
Detroit Tigers	1996	1998	184	277	.399
Colorado Rockies	2000	2002	161	185	.465
Kansas City Royals	2005	2007	174	262	.399
Total			519	724	.418
Reference:

See also

• Houston Astros award winners and league leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
• List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
• Third-generation Major League Baseball families
• List of second-generation Major League Baseball players

External links

• Career statistics and player information fromBaseball Reference,orFangraphs,orBaseball Reference (Minors),orRetrosheet
• Buddy Bell managerial career statisticsatBaseball-Reference
• Buddy Bellat Baseball Biography
• Buddy Bellat Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League)