Buddy Bell
David Gus "Buddy" Bell (born August 27, 1951) is an American former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) currently serving as vice president and senior advisor to the general manager for the Cincinnati Reds. After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians, the Texas Rangers, and the Cincinnati Reds, he managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals for three seasons each and served as Vice President/Assistant General Manager for the Chicago White Sox. He was a five-time MLB All-Star and won six consecutive Rawlings Gold Glove Awards from 1979–1984. He is the son of outfielder Gus Bell and the father of former third basemen Mike and David Bell, making them one of five families to have three generations play in the Major Leagues. When David was named Reds manager in October 2018, he and Bell became the fourth father-son pair to serve as major league managers, joining George and Dick Sisler, Bob and Joel Skinner, and Bob and Aaron Boone. Career Bell was born while his father was playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was drafted in 1969 by the Indians and was regarded as a promising prospect from the beginning. He first appeared in the Major Leagues with the Indians in , appearing mostly in the outfield as a rookie, but afterwards becoming a fixture at third base. The , Bell was a solid, but not overpowering, right-handed hitter on a mostly lackluster Indians team. He was named to the All-Star team in 1973. After the season Bell was traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Toby Harrah — another solid, veteran third baseman. Bell enjoyed his best season with the Rangers in , collecting 200 hits, 101 RBI, and his first Gold Glove Award. From 1979 through 1984, Bell won the Gold Glove for third base in the American League. He also won the Silver Slugger Award in 1984. He finished in the top ten in batting average in 1980 and 1984. In fielding, Bell was spectacular and often played far off the third base line, taking many base hits from opposing batters. In Total zone runs (a defensive statistic) he is ninth all time (ahead of Willie Mays) and 2nd among all third baseman (behind Brooks Robinson). His Range factor (another defensive stat) is fifth all-time among third baseman. He was in the top 10 in fielding percentage 10 times and finished first three times. In the middle of the season, Bell was sent to the Cincinnati Reds, where his father had been a popular player in the 1950s. Buddy responded with two more solid years playing for second place teams under Pete Rose. In , he hit a career-high 20 home runs. In the season he began to fade and was traded to the Houston Astros. Bell was released in December and returned with the Rangers before the season, in which he appeared sparingly. In an 18-year career, Bell posted a .279 batting average with