David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27, 1951) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

(MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably 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 , they have ...

, the Texas Rangers, and the

, he managed 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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

and

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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

for three seasons each and served as Vice President/Assistant General Manager for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

. He was a five-time

MLB All-Star The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

and won six consecutive

Rawlings Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

s from 1979–1984. He is the son of

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1950 through 1964, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Milwaukee Braves. He batted lef ...

and the father of former third basemen

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and document ...

and David Bell, making them one of five families to have three generations play in the Major Leagues. When David was named Reds manager in October 2018, he and Buddy became the fourth father-son pair to serve as major league managers, joining George and Dick Sisler, Bob and

Joel Skinner Joel Patrick Skinner (born February 21, 1961) is an American professional baseball manager and coach, and former Major League catcher and manager. Skinner mostly has managed at the minor-league level, save for one half of one season at the helm ...

, and Bob and

Aaron Boone Aaron John Boone (born March 9, 1973) is an American baseball manager and former infielder who is the manager of the New York Yankees in Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for 13 seasons from 1997 through 2009. As a player ...

Biography

Bell was born while his father was playing for 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 (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. 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 in , appearing mostly in the outfield as a rookie, but afterwards becoming a fixture at third base. The , Bell was a solid, but not overpowering, right-handed hitter on a mostly lackluster Indians team. He was named to the All-Star team in 1973. After the season Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Toby Harrah – another solid, veteran third baseman. Bell enjoyed his best season with the Rangers in , collecting 200

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

, 101 RBI, and his first

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

. From 1979 through 1984, Bell won the

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in b ...

for third base in the American League. He also won the

Silver Slugger Award The Silver Slugger Award has been awarded annually since 1980 to the best offensive player at each position in both the American League and the National League, as determined by the coaches and managers of Major League Baseball. These voters ...

in 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 9th all time (ahead of Willie Mays) and 2nd among all third baseman (behind Brooks Robinson). His Range factor (another defensive stat) is 5th all-time among 3rd baseman. He was in the top 10 in fielding pct. 10 times and finished first 3 times. In the middle of the season, Bell was sent to the

, 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. In , he hit a career-high 20 home runs. In the season he began to fade and was traded to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

. Bell was released in December and returned with the Rangers before the season, in which he appeared sparingly. In an 18-year career, Bell posted a .279 batting average with 201

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 1106 RBI in 2405

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

. He won six Gold Gloves, and made five All-Star Game appearances. Following retirement, Bell worked for several years as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

for the Reds, and from 1994-95 for the Indians. He managed the

from 1996–98. He then managed the

from through part of when 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 November , Bell returned to coaching for the Cleveland Indians. On May 31, 2005, the Kansas City Royals hired Bell as their manager, three weeks after Tony Peña resigned. Bell won his first four games as a manager, becoming only the second Royals manager (after

Whitey Herzog Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey" Herzog (; born November 9, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager, most notable for his Major League Baseball (MLB) managerial career. He made his MLB debut as a player in 1956 ...

) to do so and guiding the Royals to their first four-game winning streak since . 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 Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

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.
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Managerial record

References

External links

Buddy Bell
at Baseball Biography
Buddy Bell
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) :
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Buddy 1951 births Living people American League All-Stars Baseball players from Pittsburgh Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago White Sox executives Cleveland Indians coaches Cleveland Indians players Cincinnati Reds players Colorado Rockies managers Detroit Tigers managers Gold Glove Award winners Gulf Coast Indians players Houston Astros players Kansas City Royals managers Major League Baseball third basemen Miami RedHawks baseball players Silver Slugger Award winners Sportspeople from Pittsburgh Sumter Indians players Texas Rangers players United States national baseball team managers Wichita Aeros players Baseball players from Cincinnati

Biography

Managerial record

See also

References

External links