Robert Allen Bell (born January 17, 1977) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He made his debut with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in .

Career

Bell attended

Marlboro High School Marlboro High School is a four-year comprehensive high school, comprehensive state school, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in Marlboro Township, New Jersey, Marlboro Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, ...

Marlboro, New York Marlboro is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 3,669 at the 2010 census. Marlboro is in the southeastern part of the town of Marlborough, located in the southeastern corner of the c ...

where he was teammates with Dee Brown. He initially committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at Wake Forest. Drafted by the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in the 3rd round of the

1995 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Background Outfielder Darin Erstad of the University of Nebraska was the first pick in the 1995 Rule 4 Draft. Erstad ...

, Bell was considered a Braves top prospect and pitched in their minor league system until November 10, , when he was traded with

Denny Neagle Dennis Edward Neagle Jr. (; born September 13, 1968) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for six teams over a 13-year career. During the 1990s, he was one of the top pitchers in baseball, but his career, and personal life, deterio ...

and Michael Tucker to the

for

Bret Boone Bret Robert Boone (born April 6, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. During his career Boone was a three-time All-Star, four-time Gold Glove winner, and two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. He is a third generation professio ...

and

Mike Remlinger Michael John Remlinger (born March 23, 1966) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. Remlinger has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the San Francisco Giants (1991), New York Mets (1994–95), Cincinnati Reds (1995– ...

. Bell made his major league debut with the Reds on April 8, 2000 against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

. In Bell's first season in the Majors, he finished with an ERA of 5.00 in 26 starts. His record was 7-8 with 112 strikeouts and 73 walks. The following season, Bell started 9 games for Cincinnati before being sent down to AAA. On June 15, , Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers for

Rubén Mateo Ruben Amaurys Mateo (born February 10, 1978 in San Cristobal, Dominican Republic) is a former professional baseball outfielder. He has played six seasons in Major League Baseball, playing for the Texas Rangers, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pira ...

and

Edwin Encarnación Edwin Elpidio Encarnación (born January 7, 1983) is a Dominican former professional baseball designated hitter, third baseman and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleveland Ind ...

. In 18 starts for the Rangers, Bell had a 5-5 record with a 7.18. In 2002, Bell pitched in 17 games (15 starts) for the Rangers and split time with the Rangers and their AAA affiliate. The Rangers released Bell on March 12, . Five days later, Bell signed a minor league deal with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

. Bell began the season in the minors, pitching in 12 games before being called up to the majors. He went on to finish the season with 18 starts, striking out 44 batters in 101 innings. The Devil Rays resigned Bell following the 2003 season. In 2004, Bell had his best year and ended the season with a career high 8 wins. In 2005, Bell appeared in 8 games with the Devil Rays. In AAA, he only appeared in 22 games. He elected free agency afterwards, ending his 3-year tenure with Tampa Bay. He signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

on December 15, 2005, but Bell spent the entire season with the Indians' Triple-A affiliate, the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. Bell signed a minor league deal with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

in 2006. Bell appeared in 30 games with the Orioles as a

reliever In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather ...

, but was outrighted to the minors following the season, and elected free agency. In December 2007, he signed a minor league contract with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, but was released during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. In April , Bell signed a minor league contract with the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

, but was released in June. On February 16, 2013, Bell joined the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

organization as a sales account representative for the

Hudson Valley Renegades Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudson ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Rob 1977 births Living people Baseball players from New York (state) Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players Texas Rangers players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players Baltimore Orioles players Oklahoma RedHawks players Durham Bulls players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Norfolk Tides players Sportspeople from Newburgh, New York Charlotte Knights players Eugene Emeralds players Macon Braves players Danville 97s players Gulf Coast Braves players Louisville RiverBats players Gulf Coast Reds players Chattanooga Lookouts players Tulsa Drillers players