George Bell was born on Wednesday, October 21, 1959, in San Pedro de Macorís, San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. Bell was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 9, 1981, with the Toronto Blue Jays. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive George Bell baseball stats page.
"Oh sure, George Bell can be a crab. The Toronto slugger, who is the driving force behind his team's push to the top of the American League East, has, on occasion, been a bat-thrower, a pitcher-kicker, an umpire-baiter, a fan- taunter and, perhaps to his ultimate detriment, a media-dodger. But it may come as a surprise to those who would put him in the antisocial league with, say, J.D. Salinger or Sean Penn, that he also harbors an almost schoolboyish lust for awards and trophies. Bell himself admits he didn't really start to take baseball all that seriously until, as a youngster growing up in the Dominican Republic, he began accumulating scrolls and trinkets and statuettes for his play. ''I like to win trophies,'' he says with disarming candor. And it may well be true that his periodic bouts of misanthropy are the result not so much of any ingrained ill will as they are a simple reaction to rejection. Consider that, despite some superlative seasons, Bell hasn't even won his own team's Player of the Year award yet. And he hadn't made the All- Star team until a Toronto media blitz pushed him past the likes of Bo Jackson (the football player!) in the voting for this year's American League team. No, whatever you may think of him, George Bell just hasn't gotten his due as a great player." - Fimrite, Ron. Sports Writer. Sports Illustrated: TORONTO'S BIG BRASS BELL. 7 September 1987.
George BellGeorge Bell Autograph on a 1985 Donruss Baseball Card (#146) |
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Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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George BellGeorge Bell Pitching Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
- | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
George BellGeorge Bell Hitting Stats |
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Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
1981 | 22 | Blue Jays | 60 | 163 | 19 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .233 | .256 | .350 |
1983 | 24 | Blue Jays | 39 | 112 | 5 | 30 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | .268 | .305 | .438 |
1984 | 25 | Blue Jays | 159 | 606 | 85 | 177 | 39 | 4 | 26 | 0 | 87 | 24 | 2 | 86 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 14 | .292 | .326 | .498 |
1985 | 26 | Blue Jays | 157 | 607 | 87 | 167 | 28 | 6 | 28 | 2 | 95 | 43 | 6 | 90 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | .275 | .327 | .479 |
1986 | 27 | Blue Jays | 159 | 641 | 101 | 198 | 38 | 6 | 31 | 1 | 108 | 41 | 3 | 62 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 15 | .309 | .349 | .532 |
1987 | 28 | Blue Jays | 156 | 610 | 111 | 188 | 32 | 4 | 47 | 2 | 134 | 39 | 9 | 75 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 17 | .308 | .352 | .605 |
1988 | 29 | Blue Jays | 156 | 614 | 78 | 165 | 27 | 5 | 24 | 1 | 97 | 34 | 5 | 66 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 21 | .269 | .304 | .446 |
1989 | 30 | Blue Jays | 153 | 613 | 88 | 182 | 41 | 2 | 18 | 0 | 104 | 33 | 3 | 60 | 0 | 14 | 4 | 18 | .297 | .330 | .458 |
1990 | 31 | Blue Jays | 142 | 562 | 67 | 149 | 25 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 86 | 32 | 7 | 80 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 14 | .265 | .303 | .422 |
1991 | 32 | Cubs | 149 | 558 | 63 | 159 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 86 | 32 | 6 | 62 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 10 | .285 | .323 | .468 |
1992 | 33 | White Sox | 155 | 627 | 74 | 160 | 27 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 112 | 31 | 8 | 97 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 29 | .255 | .294 | .418 |
1993 | 34 | White Sox | 102 | 410 | 36 | 89 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 64 | 13 | 2 | 49 | 0 | 9 | 4 | 14 | .217 | .243 | .363 |
Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
12 Years | 1,587 | 6,123 | 814 | 1,702 | 308 | 34 | 265 | 10 | 1,002 | 331 | 53 | 771 | 0 | 83 | 49 | 165 | .278 | .316 | .469 |
George BellGeorge Bell Fielding Stats |
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Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
1981 Blue Jays | LF | 28 | 23 | 600 | 65 | 2.3 | 63 | 62 | 1 | 2 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .969 | 2.84 |
1981 Blue Jays | RF | 18 | 14 | 381 | 34 | 1.9 | 34 | 31 | 3 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.41 |
1983 Blue Jays | LF | 28 | 26 | 609 | 55 | 2.0 | 52 | 51 | 1 | 3 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .945 | 2.31 |
1983 Blue Jays | RF | 6 | 6 | 126 | 10 | 1.7 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.14 |
1984 Blue Jays | 3B | 3 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 0.7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1984 Blue Jays | LF | 66 | 63 | 1,669 | 134 | 2.0 | 130 | 124 | 6 | 4 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .970 | 2.10 |
1984 Blue Jays | RF | 90 | 81 | 2,153 | 176 | 2.0 | 171 | 168 | 3 | 5 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .972 | 2.14 |
1985 Blue Jays | 3B | 2 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 3.00 |
1985 Blue Jays | LF | 157 | 157 | 4,125 | 342 | 2.2 | 331 | 318 | 13 | 11 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .968 | 2.17 |
1986 Blue Jays | 3B | 2 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 1.80 |
1986 Blue Jays | LF | 147 | 147 | 3,892 | 295 | 2.0 | 285 | 268 | 17 | 10 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .966 | 1.98 |
1987 Blue Jays | 2B | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 |
1987 Blue Jays | 3B | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .000 | 0.00 |
1987 Blue Jays | LF | 148 | 146 | 3,801 | 275 | 1.9 | 264 | 249 | 15 | 11 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 1.88 |
1988 Blue Jays | LF | 149 | 147 | 3,813 | 274 | 1.8 | 259 | 251 | 8 | 15 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .945 | 1.83 |
1989 Blue Jays | LF | 134 | 134 | 3,566 | 271 | 2.0 | 261 | 257 | 4 | 10 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 1.98 |
1990 Blue Jays | LF | 106 | 106 | 2,766 | 232 | 2.2 | 227 | 224 | 3 | 5 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .978 | 2.22 |
1991 Cubs | LF | 146 | 145 | 3,574 | 265 | 1.8 | 255 | 249 | 6 | 10 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .962 | 1.93 |
1992 White Sox | LF | 15 | 15 | 372 | 28 | 1.9 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .964 | 1.96 |
Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
LF Totals | 1,124 | 1,109 | 28,787 | 2,236 | 2.0 | 2,154 | 2,080 | 74 | 82 | 10 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 2.02 | |
RF Totals | 114 | 101 | 2,660 | 220 | 1.9 | 215 | 209 | 6 | 5 | 2 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .977 | 2.18 | |
3B Totals | 8 | 0 | 54 | 4 | 0.5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 2.00 | |
2B Totals | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 4.50 | |
11 Years | 1,247 | 1,210 | 31,507 | 2,461 | 2.0 | 2,374 | 2,291 | 83 | 87 | 12 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .965 | 2.03 |
George BellGeorge Bell Miscellaneous Stats |
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Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
1981 Blue Jays | 3 | 2 | .600 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 32.6 | 6.0 | 13.6 | - | - | - |
1983 Blue Jays | 1 | 1 | .500 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 56.0 | 6.6 | 6.6 | - | - | - |
1984 Blue Jays | 11 | 2 | .846 | 8 | 0 | 7 | 23.3 | 7.0 | 7.0 | - | - | - |
1985 Blue Jays | 21 | 6 | .778 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21.7 | 6.7 | 6.4 | - | - | - |
1986 Blue Jays | 7 | 8 | .467 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 20.7 | 10.3 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
1987 Blue Jays | 5 | 1 | .833 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 13.0 | 8.1 | 4.6 | - | - | - |
1988 Blue Jays | 4 | 2 | .667 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 25.6 | 9.3 | 6.3 | - | - | - |
1989 Blue Jays | 4 | 3 | .571 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 34.1 | 10.2 | 5.9 | - | - | - |
1990 Blue Jays | 3 | 2 | .600 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 26.8 | 7.0 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1991 Cubs | 2 | 6 | .250 | 4 | 0 | n/a | 22.3 | 9.0 | 6.5 | - | - | - |
1992 White Sox | 5 | 2 | .714 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 25.1 | 6.5 | 5.6 | - | - | - |
1993 White Sox | 1 | 1 | .500 | 0 | 0 | 102 | 31.5 | 8.4 | 6.4 | - | - | - |
Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
12 Years | 67 | 36 | .650 | 26 | 9 | 339 | 23.1 | 7.9 | 6.1 | - | - | - |
George BellGeorge Bell Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
1981 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $32,500.00 | - | - |
1983 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $35,000.00 | - | - |
1984 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $52,000.00 | - | - |
1985 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $335,000.00 | - | - |
1986 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $725,000.00 | - | - |
1987 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $1,175,000.00 | Stats | - |
1988 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $1,900,000.00 | - | - |
1989 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $1,900,000.00 | - | - |
1990 Toronto Blue Jays | 11 | $2,000,000.00 | Stats | - |
1991 Chicago Cubs | 11 | $2,150,000.00 | Stats | - |
1992 Chicago White Sox | 21 | $3,650,000.00 | - | - |
1993 Chicago White Sox | 21 | $3,650,000.00 | - | - |
George Bell Stats by Baseball Almanac |
George Antonio Bell was a Major League Baseball player with the Toronto Blue Jays (1981, 1983-1990), Chicago Cubs (1991), and Chicago White Sox (1992–1993). Did you know that George was the first Blue Jay to win more than one Silver Slugger Award, capturing three (1985, 1986, 1987) total in his career? In 2003, his franchise record was tied — do you remember who it was? [Answer]
George Bell Rookie Card | 1982 Topps Baseball Card (#254 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Research Library
Did you know that George Bell was the first player in Major League history to hit three home runs in an Opening Day game? On April 4, 1988, former Cy Young Award winner Bret Saberhagen (1985 / the first Kansas City Royals pitcher to win) was selected to start the game and Bell went deep off him all three times, making Saberhagen the first pitcher to give-up three home runs in an Opening Day game to the same hitter.
George Bell | 3-Home Runs on Opening Day | The Sun | April 5, 1988 | Page 20Baseball Almanac Research Library
Did you know that George Bell still holds the record for most home runs in an Opening Day game? On April 4, 1994, Karl Rhodes tied Bell's mark (3) and set the National League record for home runs in an Opening Day game. On April 4, 2005, Dmitri Young tied the American League mark held by Bell, and Matt Davidson joined the "club" on March 29, 2018.
George Bell Video | 3 Home Runs Opening Day | 4 April 1988
Did you know that George Bell was once called, "the most intimidating hitter in the league" by Angels manager Gene Mauch? A superb Sports Illustrated article (Slugger George Bell Rubs Some People The Wrong Way, But He Wields An Eloquent Bat. 7 September 1987.) had that quote, several additional facts about Bell, and the quotes below:
"I respect Bell for his ability as a player, but, like the fans, I question his antics. Sometimes, you have to accept people the way they are." - Jack Morris
"People are always asking me about George. Even umpires. Just the other day, Reggie (Jackson) was asking me what kind of a guy he is. Well, I know he looks like a mean person. But he's not. He's a nice person, a wonderful guy. He has come so far from the days when he was known as just a prospect. He knows what it takes to become more than a prospect. He knows what it is to work hard." - Alfredo Griffin
"He helps instill confidence in us all, both in word and deed. He's such a competitor that when things don't go his way, he will show it. What's so bad about that? He may get ticked off from time to time, but he's a delightful guy to be around. We on this team understand him. We just say, 'That's George.'" - Jesse Barfield
"George takes baseball so seriously that he leaves the smiles in the clubhouse. He's not looking for popularity. He gets booed in a lot of ballparks, but that's just a sign of respect." - Lloyd Moseby
"On this team we love him. The public doesn't really know him, and for that George must have his reasons. I think part of the problem is language. George speaks decent English now, but he's still learning, and I think he's still afraid of being misunderstood. But I tell you, he's a pleasure to work with. He has such desire to be a great player. I don't think I've ever seen George not go hard out there." - Cito Gaston
Did you know that George Bell is enshrined in the Toronto Blue Jays Level of Excellence alongside Roberto Alomar (2B), Paul Beeston (Executive), Joe Carter (RF), Tom Cheek (Broadcaster), Carlos Delgado (1B), Tony Fernandez (SS/3B), Cito Gaston (Manager), Pat Gillick (General Manager), Roy Halladay (P), and Dave Stieb (P)?
George Bell Video | Walk Off Home Run | 28 May 1989
On May 28, 1989, during the final Major League game played at Exhibition Stadium, George Bell hit a walk-off home run (video above) in the tenth inning off Bobby Thigpen (Blue Jays 7 vs White Sox 5) — the last home run ever hit in Exhibition Stadium.
George Bell | 1988 Toronto Blue Jays Media GuideBaseball Almanac Research Library
In 1987, George Bell became the first Toronto Blue Jays' player to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award, a feat not matched for twenty-eight years! Do you know what Blue Jay won it next? Clue: He is a Bringer of Rain. [Answer]