Mike Bell (bellmi02)

Michael John Bell

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 210 lb.
• High School Moeller High School
• Debut July 20, 2000
• Final Game October 1, 2000
• Born December 7, 1974 in Cincinnati, OH USA
• Died March 26, 2021 in Chandler, AZ USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Mike Bell, who played 19 big league games with the Cincinnati Reds in 2000, played 14 years in the minors, accumulating over 4,500 at-bats. He was a third baseman most of his career, playing a fair amount of second base as well. He played in eight different organizations, having originally been drafted in the supplemental 1st round of the 1993 amateur draft by the Texas Rangers with the 30th overall pick. Mike is the son of Buddy Bell, brother of David Bell, and grandson of Gus Bell. He is the father of Luke Bell, who was a 34th round pick in the 2019 amateur draft. Barry Larkin and Norm Charlton played with both Mike and Buddy.

Following three years as a manager in their chain, Mike worked his way up the Arizona Diamondbacks player development ladder over the next decade. On September 12, 2009 the D'backs promoted him to Minor League Field Coordinator and he stayed in the role through the 2010 season. He next held the position of Director of Player Development from 2011-2016. Bell was promoted again in 2017 to Vice-President of Player Development where he stayed until he left the Diamondbacks organization after the 2019 season.

In 2020, he joined the Minnesota Twins as bench coach for manager Rocco Baldelli. He was slated to return in 2021 but underwent an operation for kidney cancer in January, and was unable to make it to spring training. His condition did not improve and he passed away on March 26th, just before the start of the season.

Year-By-Year Minor League Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs
2007	Yakima Bears	Northwest League	33-43	8th	Arizona Diamondbacks
2008	Visalia Oaks	California League	67-72	7th	Arizona Diamondbacks
2009	Visalia Rawhide	California League	64-76	6th	Arizona Diamondbacks

Further Reading

• Daniel Kramer: "Twins hire Mike Bell as bench coach", mlb.com, December 17, 2019. [1]
• Do-Hyoung Park: "Twins mourn loss of bench coach Mike Bell", mlb.com, March 26, 2021. [2]