Jay Bell

Lore & Background

Bell played his high school baseball at J.M. Tate High School in Cantonment, Florida. A first-round pick by the Minnesota Twins in 1984, he struggled initially, committing 129 errors over his first three minor-league seasons. The following year, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in a deal that brought starter Bert Blyleven to the Twins. When Bell finally made it to the majors in 1986, he faced Blyleven in his first major-league at-bat and ripped the first pitch for a home run.

He won a Gold Glove Award in 1993, breaking a string of thirteen straight National League Gold Gloves at shortstop by Ozzie Smith. It was the first Gold Glove by a Pirate shortstop since Gene Alley's back-to-back honors in 1966 and 1967. Bell won the World Series with the Diamondbacks in 2001, serving as the winning run in Game 7 when he reached base on a ninth-inning bunt before Luis Gonzalez singled to deliver a walk-off series victory over the New York Yankees.

Reader's Guide

Bell batted .265, with 195 home runs, 868 runs batted in, 1,123 runs scored, 1,964 hits, 394 doubles, 67 triples and 91 stolen bases. He was well known for wearing eyeglasses on the baseball field. After his playing career, he served as bench coach for the Cincinnati Reds, and was the bench coach for the New Zealand national baseball team that competed in the qualifying tournament for the 2013 World Baseball Classic. He became eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2009, received 0.4% of the vote, and dropped off the ballot.