Cibney Bello

Cibney Ricardo Bello

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 185 lb.

• Born September 10, 1982 in La Guaira, Vargas Venezuela

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Cibney Bello has played and coached in the minors.

Bello signed with the Seattle Mariners in 2000. He was 3-2 with 2 saves and a 4.06 ERA as a rookie for San Felipe that year. He fell to 2-4, 4.83 with Aguirre in 2001. In 2002, he improved to 7-1, 2.04 for Aguirre, with 77 strikeouts in 70 2/3 IP. He was 9 strikeouts and two wins shy of the Venezuelan Summer League lead. He made his Venezuelan League that winter, tossing two innings with no earned runs for the Cardenales de Lara. In the summer of '03, Cibney struggled at 1-1, 6.56 for the AZL Mariners.

The right-hander had a solid 2004 for the Everett AquaSox (4-1, Sv, 3.93 in 22 G, 34 K in 34 1/3 IP). He moved up to full-season ball with the 2005 Wisconsin Timber Rattlers and went 4-4 with a save and a 5.02 ERA. Control was a major problem as he walked 69 in 95 innings, hit 17 batters and threw 10 wild pitches. Despite pitching primarily in relief, he nearly led the Midwest League in walks (3 shy of leader Chi-Hung Cheng) and he did lead in hit batsmen. With the 2006 Inland Empire 66ers, he had a 6-10, 3.94 record while moving to the rotation. He walked 78 and fanned 137 in 153 innings. He was third in the California League in walks (behind Samuel Deduno and Franklin Morales), tied James Houser for 4th in strikeouts, tied Morales for 2nd in wild pitches (24, 8 behind Deduno) and tied A.J. Shappi for third with 15 hit batsmen. He tied Morales for 4th in the affiliated minors in wild pitches and led Mariners farmhands in walks. For Lara that winter, he allowed 7 hits, 4 walks and 2 runs in 4 1/3 IP.

Bello fared poorly with the 2007 High Desert Mavericks, again going 6-10, this time with a 6.91 ERA, 22 wild pitches, 16 hit batsmen and 54 walks in 116 innings. Opponents hit .317 off of him. He tied for 7th in the California League in defeats, was second in homers allowed (28), led in hit batters and was second in wild pitches (two behind leader Jordan Pratt). That ended his Organized Baseball playing career after 8 campaigns.

Bello spent the next 3 years in the independent leagues. He allowed 7 runs (5 earned) and 8 hits in 3 innings for the 2008 Ottawa Rapidz. With the Cardenales that winter, he gave up 7 hits and 3 runs in 1 2/3 IP. He was 5-2 with a 3.39 ERA for the 2009 Tucson Toros despite 35 walks in 66 1/3 IP. He split 2010 between Tucson (0-2, 11.40, 29 H in 15 IP) and the Yuma Scorpions (1-2, 4 Sv, 3.65, 19 H in 12 1/3 IP) to end his playing career.

Bello was a pitching coach intern for the 2011 AZL Mariners, working under Gary Wheelock. He then was pitching coach of the AZL Mariners in 2012-2013 and Clinton LumberKings in 2014-2015. Bello moved to the Minnesota Twins' chain as pitching coach of the GCL Twins in 2016-2017 while simultaneously working as the Twins' rehab pitching coach. He continued to move up the minor league ladder as the pitching coach for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2018, and Pensacola Blue Wahoos in 2019. Bello was scheduled to coach the Rochester Red Wings in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Bello was pitching coach of the St. Paul Saints in 2021-2023 and Indianapolis Indians in 2024.

Cibney also gained some international coaching experience as a Tigres del Licey coach in the 2021/2022 Dominican League.

Sources

• 2012 Mariners Media Guide
• 2003-2008 Baseball Almanacs
• Venezuelan League stats
• Baseball America