Jay Bell's place in history

[Fuzzy Bear]

I pulled up Jay Bell's batting stats on baseballreference.com and found something I didn't think I'd find.

The three most comparable players to Jay Bell are Bobby Grich, Barry Larkin, and Craig Biggio. Alan Trammell is #6.

Nobody envisions the day where Bell is enshrined at Cooperstown, but Larkin and Biggio are likely to go, and many think Grich should be there, as well. No one expected Jay Bell to be as good a player as he has become. Jay Bell may be the player in MLB active today that has exceeded expectations by the widest margin of any player in the game.

Where does Jay Bell rank in history? I will now list every shortstop and second baseman elected to the HOF by the Vets Committee:

Bill Mazeroski---2B
Bid McPhee---2B
Nellie Fox---2B
Red Shoendienst---2B
George Davis---SS
Tony Lazzeri---SS
Arky Vaughn---SS
Bobby Doerr---2B
Billy Herman---2B
Joe Sewell---SS
Dave Bancroft---SS
Bobby Wallace---SS
Joe Tinker---SS
Johnny Evers---2B
Phil Rizzuto---SS
Pee Wee Reese---SS

I don't think I missed anyone, but if I did, please, somebody, add onto the list.

I'm looking at that list, and Arky Vaughn is the only player that, subjectively, I can say, clearly "THAT guy was better than Jay Bell!" Where does Jay Bell fit in on this list? (I'm not really sure.)

[CubFan7125]

Every good Twins fan should have a warm spot in his heart for Jay Bell. Bell was drafted by the Twins in the early 80's, toiled for them in the minors but never made the show with them. However he was a big key to their success in the late 80's. In 1985 Bell was the prospect the Twins traded to Cleveland for Bert Blyleven. Bert would win 50 games from 85-88 in his 2nd tour with the Twins & was their #1B(Frank Viola was 1A) starter in their World Series year of 1987.

For that Jay Bell will always have a "Place in History" of any knowledgeable Twins fan.

[SmedIndy]

The problems I have with Bell is that he's batting in a big offensive era, and his defense isn't that great at any position.

Before the big numbers became the norm, he was the #2 hitter for the Pirates, and bunted incessantly.

[sweaver]

Bell was a very good defensive shortstop in his prime, and the bunting was Leyland's fault, not his. He was a very dangerous hitter in those fine Pirate lineups.

[Craig S.]

A good solid SS for a number of years, but certainly not someone I would classify as a "great" player, and there's absolutely no way he gets any Hall consideration.

[Slippery Pedro]

Wasn't JB already enshrined into the Showalter Good Character HOF? Isn't that enough?

[SmedIndy]

Originally posted by sweaver
Bell was a very good defensive shortstop in his prime, and the bunting was Leyland's fault, not his. He was a very dangerous hitter in those fine Pirate lineups.

When he was a Pirate, he only had one RCAA over 10. He's catching breaks at the end of his career.

[sweaver]

Well, sure, he's done now, except as a part-timer. And he's no Hall candidate. But he was an All-Star for a while, there.

[SmedIndy]

When I meant catching breaks at the end of his career, it was his last waltz in 'Zona....1999 to be exact. I thought 1997 was going to be his high water mark.

[KCBOOMER]

I wouldn't have Jay Bell on any team of mine. We had him in KC one year and all he did was impersonate a statue at shortstop (I mean is it possible to have negative range?) while being a poison in the clubhouse.

[sweaver]

KC got him too late, as often happens. In Pittsburgh, he was the last piece of the playoff team puzzle.

Remember, he replaced Sammy Khalifa. Now that's an upgrade.

[SmedIndy]

Originally posted by sweaver
KC got him too late, as often happens. In Pittsburgh, he was the last piece of the playoff team puzzle.

Remember, he replaced Sammy Khalifa. Now that's an upgrade.

A mid-size Yugo would have been an upgrade over Khalifa....

[KCBOOMER]

We may have got him late but he didn't even bother to go through the motions except when he was at bat.

[Fuzzy Bear]

Originally posted by Fuzzy Bear




Bill Mazeroski---2B
Bid McPhee---2B
Nellie Fox---2B
Red Shoendienst---2B
George Davis---SS
Tony Lazzeri---SS
Arky Vaughn---SS
Bobby Doerr---2B
Billy Herman---2B
Joe Sewell---SS
Dave Bancroft---SS
Bobby Wallace---SS
Joe Tinker---SS
Johnny Evers---2B
Phil Rizzuto---SS
Pee Wee Reese---SS

So where does Jay Bell rank on this list? Also, how does he rank, in comparision to Concepcion, Bowa, Trammell, and Julio Franco?

Clearly both Doerr and Lazzeri were better than Bell, however that is not always recognizable. Both of these players were severly limited during their careers; Doerr with his bad back and Lazzeri the constant sufferer of epileptic fits.

-Chris