Derek Bell (baseball)
| Derek Bell | |||
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| Outfielder | |||
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Born: December 11, 1968 Tampa, Florida |
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| MLB debut | |||
| June 28, 1991, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| July 3, 2001, for the Pittsburgh Pirates | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .276 | ||
| Home runs | 134 | ||
| Runs batted in | 668 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Derek Nathaniel Bell (born December 11, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball player. Primarily a right fielder and center fielder, Bell batted from the right side and threw with his right hand. He is 6'2" tall, and during his playing career, he weighed 215 pounds.
Bell is one of only eleven players to play in both the Little League World Series and the Major League World Series. In 1980 and 1981 Bell played for Belmont Heights Little League in Tampa, Florida, winning the US championship and losing to Taiwan in the world championship game both years. (Bell is also the only player to appear in the LLWS twice and later in the big-league World Series.)
When he reached C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Bell attracted the attention of the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto selected him in the second round of the 1987 June draft, with the 49th overall pick. Bell signed with Toronto, and made his debut that same year in the New York–Penn League. He emerged as a top prospect with the Myrtle Beach Blue Jays the next year, when he was named to the South Atlantic League All-Star team. Bell's .344 batting average earned him the league batting title, and he also displayed substantial power, hitting 29 doubles, five triples, and 12 home runs in only 352 at bats. His success helped him earn a late-season promotion to class AA.
Although he continued to advance, Bell struggled for the next two seasons, batting .242 at AA in 1989 and .261 at AAA the next year, but drawing walks at an extremely low rate. Despite being younger than most players in those leagues, he re-emerged as a top prospect in 1991, repeating AAA with the Syracuse Chiefs. That year, Bell batted .346 with 22 doubles, 12 triples, 13 home runs, 57 walks, and 29 stolen bases. Bell made the International League All-Star team and won the International League Most Valuable Player award, and Baseball America magazine named him the Minor League Player of the Year.
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