Highlighted Year: Jay Bell, 1999

Second Baseman, Arizona Diamondbacks

 

Age:  33

2^nd season with Diamondbacks

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’1”    Weight: 180 

Prior to 1999:

A Florida native, Bell was a star shortstop at Pensacola’s J.M. Tate High School where he displayed his solid work ethic and strong competitive spirit. Selected by the Minnesota Twins in the first round of the 1984 amateur draft, he was first assigned to Elizabethton of the Rookie-level Appalachian League where he batted .220 in 66 games. He also proved to be error-prone in the field. Moving on to Visalia of the Class A California League in 1985, Bell hit .282 with 16 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs, 59 RBIs, and a .353 OBP until he was traded to the Cleveland Indians in August as part of the deal that brought RHP Bert Blyleven back to Minnesota. He finished up the season with Waterbury of the Class AA Eastern League, batting .298 in 29 games. Staying with Waterbury in 1986, he hit .277 with 28 doubles, 7 home runs, 74 RBIs, and a .378 OBP. However, he also committed 45 errors at shortstop. Receiving a late-season call-up to the Indians, he homered in his first major league at bat, interestingly off Blyleven. Bell split time between the Indians and Buffalo of the Class AAA American Association. Lean, lanky, and glasses-wearing, he displayed surprising power as he hit .260 with 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, and a .380 OBP in Class AAA and .216 with a .269 OBP for Cleveland. Bell was the starting shortstop for the Indians to start the 1988 season but failed to hit and, with his production down to .193 with 14 RBIs after having started 46 of 59 games, he was demoted to Colorado Springs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League in July. His hitting improved in Class AAA and he batted .276 with 7 home runs and a .368 OBP before returning to Cleveland in September and hitting .341 in 16 games to finish at .218 with 8 extra-base hits and a .289 OBP in 73 major league games. He was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the spring. After getting off to a 1-for-20 start at the plate, he again found himself in Class AAA with the American Association’s Buffalo Bisons where he regained his batting stroke and was hitting .276 when he was recalled to Pittsburgh in July. He hit .275 the rest of the way to finish at .258 with a .307 OBP, 18 extra-base-hits (including an inside-the-park home run), and 27 RBIs. With the Pirates topping the NL East in 1990, Bell contributed by batting .254 with 28 doubles, 7 triples, 7 home runs, 52 RBIs, and a .329 OBP. An excellent bunter, he set a team record with his league-leading 39 sacrifice hits. Defensively he put together a 39-game errorless streak at midseason and resolved Pittsburgh’s long search for a capable shortstop, pairing well with second baseman Jose Lind. He homered among his five hits during the NLCS loss to Cincinnati. The Pirates cruised to another NL East title in 1991 and Bell hit .270 with 32 doubles, 8 triples, 16 home runs, 67 RBIs, a .330 OBP, and a .428 slugging percentage. He again led the NL in sacrifice bunts with 30 and led NL shortstops with 491 assists. He placed twelfth in league MVP voting. In the seven-game NLCS loss to Atlanta he batted .414 with his 12 hits. Pittsburgh won a third straight division title in 1992 and Bell continued to be a stellar performer in the field, where he led NL shortstops in putouts (268) and assists (526). At the plate he batted .264 with 36 doubles, 6 triples, 9 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a .326 OBP. The club once again fell in the NLCS to the Braves and Bell hit only .172 in the seven games. Having suffered key free agent departures, the Pirates slipped in 1993 but Bell had an outstanding season as he batted .310 with 32 doubles, 9 triples, 9 home runs, 51 RBIs, 16 stolen bases, and a .392 OBP. He was an All-Star for the first time and received a Gold Glove for his defensive performance. Despite a slow start during the strike-shortened 1994 season, Bell hit .276 with 35 doubles, 9 home runs, 45 RBIs, and a .353 OBP. In 1995, he overcame another slow start to bat .262 with 28 doubles, 13 home runs, 55 RBIs, and a .336 OBP. His defense remained sound. His performance was similar in 1996 as he hit .250 with 29 doubles, 13 home runs, 71 RBIs, and a .323 OBP. He led NL shortstops with 478 assists and a .986 fielding percentage which was helped by an errorless streak of 46 straight games. With the club looking to cut costs, in the offseason Bell and third baseman Jeff King were traded to the Kansas City Royals for four players. Bell performed well for the Royals in 1997, batting .291 with 21 home runs and 92 RBIs with a .368 OBP and .461 slugging percentage. A free agent in the offseason, he signed with the expansion Diamondbacks for five years and $34 million, who were impressed with his good character and leadership qualities as well as performance on the field. His 1998 production with the first-year club was .251 with 29 doubles, 20 home runs, 67 RBIs, and a .353 OBP. Often strikeout prone, he whiffed 129 times while drawing 81 walks. With his range becoming more limited at shortstop, he was shifted to second base in September.

1999 Season Summary

Appeared in 151 games

2B – 148, PH – 4, DH – 2, SS – 1

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 688 [11, tied with Mark Grace]

At Bats – 589

Runs – 132 [2]

Hits – 170

Doubles – 32

Triples – 6 [13, tied with five others]

Home Runs – 38 [9]

RBI – 112 [14, tied with Eric Karros]

Bases on Balls – 82 [16, tied with Fernando Tatis & Rickey Henderson]

Int. BB – 2

Strikeouts – 132 [9, tied with Rico Brogna]

Stolen Bases – 7

Caught Stealing – 4

Average - .289

OBP - .374

Slugging Pct. - .557 [12]

Total Bases – 328 [9]

GDP – 9

Hit by Pitches – 4

Sac Hits – 4

Sac Flies – 9 [3, tied with four others]

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 20,  HR - 24, RBI - 65, AVG - .286, SLG - .566, OBP – .365

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Most hits, game – 4 (in 6 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 4/13 – 12 innings, (in 6 AB) at San Diego 4/25 – 11 innings, (in 5 AB) at Texas 7/17 – 10 innings

Longest hitting streak – 11 games

HR at home – 21

HR on road – 17

Most home runs, game – 2 (in 6 AB) vs. LA Dodgers 4/13 – 12 innings, (in 6 AB) at San Diego 4/25, (in 5 AB) at Texas 7/17

Multi-HR games – 3

Most RBIs, game – 4 vs. Texas 6/5, vs. Oakland 7/11

Pinch-hitting – 1 for 3 (.333) with 1 BB

Fielding

Chances – 682

Put Outs – 320

Assists – 340

Errors – 22

DP – 86

Pct. - .968

Postseason Batting: 4 G (NLDS vs. NY Mets)

PA – 17, AB – 14, R – 3, H – 4, 2B – 1,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 3, BB – 1, IBB – 0, SO – 0, SB – 0, CS – 1, AVG - .286, OBP - .353, SLG - .357, TB – 5, GDP – 0, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF – 1

Awards & Honors:

All-Star (Started for NL at 2B)

13^th in NL MVP voting (31 points – 7% share)

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The Diamondbacks went 100-62 to finish first in the NL Western Division by 14 games over the San Francisco Giants in their second season of existence while leading the league in runs scored (908), and RBIs (865). The Diamondbacks overcame a poor 1-5 start that featured three ninth-inning blown saves and were 40-26 atop the NL West by June 16. A slump heading into July was ended by a trade for RHP Matt Mantei, who became the closer in the bullpen. The club regained its footing, taking over first place to stay on July 24 and clinching the division title on Sept. 24. Lost NLDS to the New York Mets, 3 games to 1.

Aftermath of 1999:

Following his highly productive 1999 season, Bell’s offensive performance was more typical in 2000 as he batted .267 with 30 doubles, 6 triples, 18 home runs, 68 RBIs, a .348 OBP, and a .437 slugging percentage. His range continued to deteriorate at second base although he remained sure-handed. Bell played two more seasons for Arizona in a utility role. He scored the winning run in Game 7 of the 2001 World Series and finished his playing career with the New York Mets in 2003. For his major league career, Bell batted .265 with 1963 hits that included 394 doubles, 67 triples, and 195 home runs. He scored 1123 runs and compiled 860 RBIs, 91 stolen bases, a .343 OBP, and a .416 slugging percentage. With Arizona he batted .263 with 573 hits, 360 runs scored, 116 doubles, 18 triples, 91 home runs, 304 RBIs, a .355 OBP, and a .458 slugging percentage. Appearing in 30 postseason games, he hit .262 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. A two-time All-Star, he also received one Gold Glove and Silver Slugger apiece. Following his playing career, he became a minor league manager and coach with several different teams. Bell has also served on the advisory board of the Baseball Assistance Team, a non-profit that helps former major and minor league players in medical or financial need.

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.