Robert Allen Bell (born January 17, 1977) is an American 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 ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

. He 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 2000 to 2005, and a final season in 2007, with four different teams.

Career

Bell attended Marlboro High School in

Marlboro, New York Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2020 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the ...

, where he was teammates with Dee Brown. He initially committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at Wake Forest. Drafted by the

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 ...

in the 3rd round of the

1995 Major League Baseball Draft The 1995 Major League Baseball draft began June 1995 to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 1994 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who did not s ...

, Bell was considered a Braves top prospect and pitched in their minor league system until November 10, , when he was traded with Denny Neagle and Michael Tucker to the

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

for

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who is a hitting coach for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). During his career, Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glo ...

and

Mike Remlinger Michael John Remlinger (born March 23, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Remlinger has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Francisco Giants (1991), New York Mets (1994–95), Cincinnati Reds (1995– ...

. Bell made his major league debut with the Reds on April 8, 2000, against the

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

. In Bell's first season in the Majors, he finished with an ERA of 5.00 in 26 starts. His record was 7–8 with 112 strikeouts and 73 walks. The following season, Bell started 9 games for Cincinnati before being sent down to AAA. On June 15, , Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers for

Rubén Mateo Ruben Amaurys Mateo (born February 10, 1978) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He has played six seasons in Major League Baseball, playing for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Kansas City Royals. He also pl ...

and

Edwin Encarnación Edwin Elpidio Encarnación Rivera (born January 7, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball designated hitter, third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleve ...

. In 18 starts for the Rangers, Bell had a 5–5 record with a 7.18. In 2002, Bell pitched in 17 games (15 starts) for the Rangers and split time with the Rangers and their AAA affiliate. The Rangers released Bell on March 12, . Five days later, Bell signed a minor league deal with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

. Bell began the season in the minors, pitching in 12 games before being called up to the majors. He went on to finish the season with 18 starts, striking out 44 batters in 101 innings. The Devil Rays resigned Bell following the 2003 season. In 2004, Bell had his best year and ended the season with a career high 8 wins. In 2005, Bell appeared in 8 games with the Devil Rays. In AAA, he only appeared in 22 games. He elected free agency afterwards, ending his 3-year tenure with Tampa Bay. He signed with 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 ...

on December 15, 2005, but Bell spent the entire season with the Indians' Triple-A affiliate, the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. Bell signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

in 2006. Bell appeared in 30 games with the Orioles as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

, but was outrighted to the minors following the season, and elected free agency. In December 2007, he signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

, but was released during

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

. In April , Bell signed a minor league contract with 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

, but was released in June. On February 16, 2013, Bell joined the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

organization as a sales account representative for the

Hudson Valley Renegades The Hudson Valley Renegades are a Minor League Baseball team based in Fishkill, New York. The High-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Renegades play in the South Atlantic League. The Renegades play their home games at Heritage Financial Pa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Rob 1977 births Living people Baseball players from Orange County, New York Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Texas Rangers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Baltimore Orioles players Oklahoma RedHawks players Durham Bulls players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Norfolk Tides players Sportspeople from Newburgh, New York Charlotte Knights players Eugene Emeralds players Macon Braves players Danville 97s players Gulf Coast Braves players Louisville RiverBats players Gulf Coast Reds players Chattanooga Lookouts players Tulsa Drillers players