Texas Rangers.

Date of birth: August 27, 1951 Pittsburgh, PA

High School:  Archbishop Moeller HS (Cincinnati, OH)

College: Miami of Ohio, Xavier

Nickname: Buddy. I think Elf was based on someone else but he appreciated the main character’s name. And he probably by default had a lot of friends. He played in 2405 games.

First Impression; It was odd to see players in long sleeves back then. Or maybe this just stands out to me. Good stance, he’s focused, and he has a tribble hanging out of his helmet.

Career stats player: This guy would have the big block o’ stats on the back, and while I loved some of the quips and facts on the back I really lived diving into stats, was he better or worse, better with this team or that, etc. A bit of trivia is that his real name isn’t Buddy, which to me is more of a pet’s name, it is David Gus Bell. After his father Gus Bell who was a major leaguer and Buddy’s son David Michael Bell played in the majors too as well as Mike Bell his other son. Not sure where the Michael came from, probably mom.

“Are you really my Buddy?” (Chip Douglas). With baseball in his blood getting to the majors was probably a bit easier for ole Buddy than others, but I am sure he worked hard as well. He debuted as an Indian and those Indian teams were stinkier than the lake next to Cleveland Stadium. He was paroled to the Rangers when they decided to make Toby Harrah’s life miserable for the next 5 years and deal him to Cleveland.

While the Rangers were no Yankees, Celtics or 49ers as a franchise, Bell blossomed in the Texas heat hitting .293 in his time with Texas where he would be a 4 time All-Star (5 overall) and win six gold gloves and a silver slugger. He played pretty well for the mid 80s Reds as well and then hung them up after one year in Houston and one more back in Texas.

He had 2514 hits (currently 100th all time but Freddy Freeman will catch him) and batted .279. He hit 201 HR.

All Time Stat: 99th in hits is HOF Joe Morgan. 98th is Todd Helton. Of Helton, Morgan and Bell; Bell had the inferior offensive numbers and not the glove or speed that Morgan had.

Career stats manager: 519-724. Buddy got three stints at manager. First in 1996 when he kicked off the hit list that was on the Tiger parade of managers on this list. He was hired to replace Sparky Anderson, definitely a tough ask. And it appears that Bless You Boys was more of an interjection after a sneeze than a praise of the team. On this one, I have to let wiki do the talking,

“the 1996 Tigers lacked pitching, allowing their opponents to score 1,103 runs and posting a team ERA of 6.38. The team’s pitchers recorded 6,713 batters faced, more than any other team in MLB history.^[1] No team in American League history and only one in major league history (the 1930 Philadelphia Phillies) has given up more runs. No pitcher on the team had more than 7 wins. Of the 109 losses, 58 were by four or more runs — a record for the number of games lost by such a margin.^[2] The Tigers made more unwanted history when they were swept 12–0 by the Cleveland Indians in the regular season series, losing all twelve games played while being outscored, 79–28. The 1996 Tigers did not have a winning record against any AL opponent.”*

Nowhere to go but up right? YES and they were 79-83, Im shocked he didnt win manager of the year. They were 26 games better… and then 1998 they started 52-85 and fired Bell for Larry Parrish.

Hey, Harry, old Buddy, old pal. Will you join me in a good‑luck toast before you head out? (Lloyd Christmas) Bell then went and replaced another legend, Jim Leyland, though he only had to clear one year of cigarette butts from Leyland’s office as he had only been there in 1999. As the 3rd manager of the Rockies he went 161-185. When he was fired, Clint Hurdle took the reigns.

“Bye Buddy, hope you find your dad!” (Mr. Narwhal) Buddy’s last gig was with KC and there isn’t much to say other than to quote buddy who was told people don’t believe in Santa, “Thats Shocking”. He was 88 games under .500, dead last every year.

Fun Fact: 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.*

Ever a Future Star?  No, he was a Topps All-Star Rookie with a gold cup.

Rookie or final card? No, his shaggy doo will appear in more cards. And his more elder statesman look was featured on manager cards 2001-2002 and 2006-2007.

Hall of Fame? Number retired? Texas Rangers Hall of Fame

Links to stories including Buddy Bell.