View source for Buddy Bell

{{short description|American baseball player and manager (born 1951)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Buddy Bell
|position=[[Third baseman]] / [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]]
|image=Buddy Bell - Cleveland Indians.jpg
|caption=Bell with the Cleveland Indians, {{c.|1977}}
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1951|8|27}}
|birth_place=[[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=April 15
|debutyear=1972
|debutteam=Cleveland Indians
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=June 17
|finalyear=1989
|finalteam=Texas Rangers
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.279
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hit]]s
|stat2value=2,514
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=201
|stat4label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,106
|stat5label=Managerial record
|stat5value=519–724
|stat6label=Winning %
|stat6value=.418
|teams=
'''As player'''
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1972}}–{{mlby|1978}})
* [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] ({{mlby|1979}}–{{mlby|1985}})
* [[Cincinnati Reds]] ({{mlby|1985}}–{{mlby|1988}})
* [[Houston Astros]] ({{mlby|1988}})
* [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]] ({{mlby|1989}})
'''As manager'''
* [[Detroit Tigers]] ({{mlby|1996}}–{{mlby|1998}})
* [[Colorado Rockies]] ({{mlby|2000}}–{{mlby|2002}})
* [[Kansas City Royals]] ({{mlby|2005}}–{{mlby|2007}})
'''As coach'''
* [[Cleveland Indians]] ({{mlby|1994}}–{{mlby|1995}}, {{mlby|2003}}–{{mlby|2005}})
|highlights=
* 5× [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1973 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1973]], [[1980 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1980]]–[[1982 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1982]], [[1984 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|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 an American former [[third baseman]] and [[manager (baseball)|manager]] in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the [[Cincinnati Reds]].

After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably the [[Cleveland Indians]], the [[Texas Rangers (baseball)|Texas Rangers]], and the [[Cincinnati Reds]], he managed the [[Detroit Tigers]], [[Colorado Rockies]] and [[Kansas City Royals]] for three seasons each and served as Vice President/Assistant General Manager for the [[Chicago White Sox]]. He was a five-time [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|MLB All-Star]] and won six consecutive [[Rawlings Gold Glove Award]]s from 1979–1984.

He is the son of [[outfielder]] [[Gus Bell]] and the father of former third basemen [[Mike Bell (third baseman)|Mike]] and [[David Bell (baseball)|David Bell]], making them one of [[Third-generation Major League Baseball families|five 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, joining [[George Sisler|George]] and [[Dick Sisler]], [[Bob Skinner|Bob]] and [[Joel Skinner]], and [[Bob Boone|Bob]] and [[Aaron Boone]].<ref name="ST2018">{{cite news |title=Former Mariner David Bell hired as manager of Reds |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mariners/former-mariner-david-bell-hired-as-manager-of-reds/ |access-date=22 October 2018 |agency=The Associated Press |publisher=The Seattle Times |date=21 October 2018}}</ref>

==Career==
Bell was born while his father was playing for the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]]. He attended [[Moeller High School]] in [[Cincinnati]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Ossino |first=Del |date=Jun 16, 1969 |title=Bell, Crable Go Big League (Sign With AL Clubs) |work=The Cincinnati Enquirer}}</ref> 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 {{baseball year|1972}}, appearing mostly in the outfield as a rookie, but afterwards becoming a fixture at third base. The {{convert|6|ft|1|in|abbr=on}}, {{convert|185|lb|abbr=on}} Bell was a solid, but not overpowering, right-handed hitter on a mostly lackluster Indians team. He was named to the [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] team in 1973.

After the {{baseball year|1978}} 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 {{baseball year|1979}}, collecting 200 [[hit (baseball)|hits]], 101 [[run batted in|RBI]], and his first [[Gold Glove Award]]. From 1979 through 1984, Bell won the [[Gold Glove]] for third base in the American League. He also won the [[Silver Slugger Award]] 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 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 in [[fielding percentage]] 10 times and finished first three times.

In the middle of the {{baseball year|1985}} season, Bell was sent to the [[Cincinnati 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. In {{baseball year|1986}}, he hit a career-high 20 home runs. In the {{baseball year|1988}} season he began to fade and was traded to the [[Houston Astros]]. Bell was released in December and returned with the Rangers before the {{baseball year|1989}} season, in which he appeared sparingly. In an 18-year career, Bell posted a .279 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] with 201 [[home run]]s and 1106 RBI in 2405 [[games played|games]]. He won six Gold Gloves, and made five All-Star Game appearances.

Following retirement, Bell worked for several years as a [[coach (baseball)|coach]] for the Reds, and from 1994-95 for the Indians. He managed the [[Detroit Tigers]] from 1996–98. He then managed the [[Colorado Rockies]] from {{baseball year|2000}} through part of {{baseball year|2002}} 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 {{baseball year|2002}}, 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]]) to do so and guiding the Royals to their first four-game winning streak since {{baseball year|2003}}.

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,<ref>[http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/15576946.htm]{{dead link|date=June 2019}}</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.kansascity.com/sports/royals/story/214535.html]{{dead link|date=June 2019}}</ref>

==Managerial record==

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="5"|Regular season !! colspan="4"|Postseason
|-
!Games!!Won!!Lost!!Win %!!Finish!! Won !! Lost !! Win % !! Result
|-
![[1996 Detroit Tigers season|DET]]||{{mlby|1996}}
||162||{{WinLossPct|53|109}} || 5th in AL East || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1997 Detroit Tigers season|DET]]||{{mlby|1997}}
||162||{{WinLossPct|79|83}}|| 3rd in AL East || – || – || – || –
|-
![[1998 Detroit Tigers season|DET]]||{{mlby|1998}}
||137||{{WinLossPct|52|85}}|| Fired || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|DET total || 461 || 184 || 277 ||{{Winning percentage|184|277}}|| || – || – || – ||
|- 
![[2000 Colorado Rockies season|COL]]||{{mlby|2000}}
||162||{{WinLossPct|82|80}} || 4th in NL West || – || – || – || –
|-
![[2001 Colorado Rockies season|COL]]||{{mlby|2001}}
||162||{{WinLossPct|73|89}} || 5th in NL West || – || – || – || –
|-
![[2002 Colorado Rockies season|COL]]||{{mlby|2002}}
||22||{{WinLossPct|6|16}} || Fired || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|COL total || 346 || 161 || 185 || {{Winning percentage|161|185}} || || – || – || – ||
|-
![[2005 Kansas City Royals season|KC]]||{{mlby|2005}}
||112||{{WinLossPct|43|69}} || 5th in AL Central || – || – || – || –
|-
![[2006 Kansas City Royals season|KC]]||{{mlby|2006}}
||162||{{WinLossPct|62|100}} || 5th in AL Central || – || – || – || –
|-
![[2007 Kansas City Royals season|KC]]||{{mlby|2007}}
||162||{{WinLossPct|69|93}} || 5th in AL Central || – || – || – || –
|-
! colspan="2"|KC total || 436 || 174 || 262 || {{Winning percentage|174|262}} || || – || – || – ||
|-
! colspan="2"|Total<ref>{{cite web|title=Buddy Bell|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/managers/bellbu01.shtml|website=Baseball Reference|publisher=Sports Reference|access-date=September 28, 2015}}</ref> || 1,243 || 519 || 724 || {{Winning percentage|519|724}}|| || – || – || – ||
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography|Baseball}}
* [[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]]

==References==
 {{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Baseballstats|br=b/bellbu01|fangraphs=1000799|brm=bell--002dav|retro=B/Pbellb001}}
{{baseball-reference manager|bellbu01}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{Succession box| before = | title = [[Cleveland Indians]] infield coach | years = {{baseball year|1994}}&ndash;{{baseball year|1995}}|after = [[Toby Harrah]]}}
{{Succession box| before = [[Jeff Datz]] | title = [[Cleveland Indians]] bench coach | years = {{baseball year|2003}}&ndash;{{baseball year|2005}}|after = [[Robby Thompson]]}}
{{S-end}}

{{Lou Gehrig Memorial Award}}
{{AL 3B Silver Slugger Award}}
{{AL 3B Gold Glove Award}}
{{Detroit Tigers managers}}
{{Colorado Rockies managers}}
{{Kansas City Royals managers}}
{{Texas Rangers Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Buddy}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American League All-Stars]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Pittsburgh]]
[[Category:Cardenales de Lara players]]
[[Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela]]
[[Category:Chicago White Sox executives]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians coaches]]
[[Category:Cleveland Indians players]]
[[Category:Cincinnati Reds players]]
[[Category:Colorado Rockies managers]]
[[Category:Detroit Tigers managers]]
[[Category:Gold Glove Award winners]]
[[Category:Gulf Coast Indians players]]
[[Category:Houston Astros players]]
[[Category:Kansas City Royals managers]]
[[Category:Major League Baseball third basemen]]
[[Category:Miami RedHawks baseball players]]
[[Category:Silver Slugger Award winners]]
[[Category:Sumter Indians players]]
[[Category:Texas Rangers players]]
[[Category:United States national baseball team managers]]
[[Category:Wichita Aeros players]]
[[Category:Baseball players from Cincinnati]]
[[Category:Moeller High School alumni]]