Outfielder, Toronto
Blue Jays
Age: 27
6th season
with Blue Jays
Bats – Right,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 190
Prior to 1987:
A native of San
Pedro de Macoris in the Dominican Republic, Bell signed with the Philadelphia
Phillies at age 18 in 1978 and batted .311 in 33 games with Helena of the
Pioneer League. He moved on to Spartanburg of the Class A Western Carolinas
League in 1979, where he hit .305 with 24 doubles, 15 triples, and 22 home runs
with 102 RBIs. Bell was promoted to Reading of the Class AA Eastern League in
1980 until taken by the Blue Jays in the Rule 5 draft, which required him to be
placed on the major league roster. He appeared in 60 games with Toronto in 1981
and batted .233 with 5 home runs and 12 RBIs. Bell went back and forth between
the Blue Jays and Class AAA Syracuse of the International League in 1982 and
’83 to hone his skills before moving into the outfield in 1984, seeing action
in both right and left fields. He hit .292 with 26 home runs and 87 RBIs. Together
with CF Lloyd Moseby and RF Jesse Barfield, Bell was part of a potent and
highly-regarded outfield. The club topped the AL East in 1985 with Bell
contributing 28 home runs, 95 RBIs, and a .275 batting average. He followed up
in 1986 with 31 home runs, 108 RBIs, and a .309 average for the fourth-place
Blue Jays.
1987 Season Summary
Appeared in 156
games
LF – 148, DH –
7, 2B – 1, 3B – 1, PH – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 667 [15, tied with Wade Boggs & Danny Tartabull]
At Bats – 610
[9, tied with Willie Wilson]
Runs – 111 [2]
Hits – 188 [6]
Doubles – 32 [18,
tied with Kirby Puckett, Frank White & Mike Davis]
Triples – 4
Home Runs – 47 [2]
RBI – 134 [1]
Bases on Balls
– 39
Int. BB – 9 [8,
tied with Mike Pagliarulo]
Strikeouts – 75
Stolen Bases – 5
Caught Stealing
– 1
Average - .308
[12]
OBP - .352
Slugging Pct. -
.605 [2]
Total Bases – 369
[1]
GDP – 17 [12,
tied with Alvin Davis, Chet Lemon & Ernie Whitt]
Hit by Pitches
– 7 [12, tied with Jim Rice & Kelly Gruber]
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 9 [5,
tied with Jose Canseco & B.J. Surhoff]
League-leading RBIs
were +11 ahead of runner-up Dwight Evans
League-leading
total bases were +25 ahead of runner-up Mark McGwire
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 29, RBI - 76, AVG - .293, SLG PCT – .609
---
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 4 AB) vs. Minnesota 7/26
Longest hitting
streak – 17 games
HR at home – 19
HR on road – 28
Most home runs,
game – 2 on nine occasions
Multi-HR games
– 9
Most RBIs, game
– 7 at Texas 5/9
Pinch-hitting –
0 of 1 (.000) with 1 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 273
Put Outs – 248
Assists – 14
Errors – 11
DP – 1
Pct. - .960
Awards & Honors:
AL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Silver Slugger
All-Star (started
for AL in LF)
Top 5 in AL MVP
Voting:
George Bell,
Tor.: 332 pts. - 16 of 28 first place votes, 85% share
Alan Trammell,
Det.: 311 pts. – 12 first place votes, 79% share
Kirby Puckett,
Min.: 201 pts. – 51% share
Dwight Evans,
Bos.: 127 pts. – 32% share
Paul Molitor,
Mil.: 125 pts. – 32% share
Blue Jays went 96-66
to finish second in the AL Eastern Division, 2 games behind the
division-winning Detroit Tigers. Toronto was in first place by 3.5 games as
late as September 26 before losing seven straight games to finish the season
including being swept by the Tigers in a three-game series on the final weekend
that determined the club’s fate. During the losing streak Bell hit .111 with one
RBI.
Aftermath of ‘87:
Bell started
off the 1988 season strongly by hitting three home runs in the opening game, but
he became involved in controversy over the decision by Manager Jimy Williams to
use him primarily as a Designated Hitter rather than in left field, where he
was never a strong fielder, in order to lessen stress on his knees, which were
causing him trouble. Bell ended up hitting only .269 with 24 home runs and 97
RBIs. He bounced back in 1989 to bat .297 with 18 home runs and 104 RBIs.
Following a 1990 season that saw him gain selection as an All-Star on his way
to a .265 batting average with 21 home runs, Bell signed with the Chicago Cubs
as a free agent in 1991. He had a solid year with 25 home runs, 86 RBIs, and a
.285 average before being traded across town to the White Sox where he batted
.255 with 25 home runs and 112 RBIs in 1992 and following a lesser year in 1993
in which his skills were clearly eroding, he retired. Overall in the major
leagues, Bell hit .278 with 1702 hits, 265 home runs, and 1002 RBIs. With the
Blue Jays alone he compiled a .286 average with 1294 hits, 202 home runs, and
740 RBIs. He was a three-time All-Star, twice with Toronto, and won three
Silver Sluggers. Bell was an inaugural selection to the Blue Jays’ Level of
Excellence in 1996 and was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in
2013.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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