Heath Bell Information & Heath Bell Links at HealthHaven.com

**Heath Bell**
Heath Bell
; Bell with the Padres in 2009
	San Diego Padres — No. 21
	Relief pitcher
	Born: September 29, 1977 (age 32); Oceanside, California
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
	August 24, 2004 for the New York Mets
Career statistics; (through 2009)
Win-Loss	19-19
Earned run average	3.40
Strikeouts	357
Saves	44
Teams
	New York Mets (2004-2006); San Diego Padres (2007-present);
Career highlights and awards
	1x All-Star selection (2009);

Heath Justin Bell (born September 29, 1977 in Oceanside, California) is a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball with the San Diego Padres.

[edit] High school years

Bell attended Tustin High School in Tustin, California, which is about 50 miles from his birthplace in Oceanside and 90 miles from his current job in San Diego. He lettered in football, basketball, and baseball.

He also took drama during his sophomore year, appearing as Fred in the play Noises Off.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Junior college years

Bell attended Santa Ana College where he was named a senior All-American in 1997.

[edit] Pro career

He was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 69th round of the 1997 amateur draft but did not begin his professional career until 1998, when he signed with the New York Mets as an undrafted free agent.

After toiling in the Mets minor league system for eight seasons, Bell made his major league debut on August 24, 2004 pitching two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against his current club, the Padres. The righty spent the next two seasons shuttling between the Mets and their Triple-A affiliate Norfolk, mainly filling in as an injury replacement.

On November 15, 2006, Bell was traded to San Diego, along with pitcher Royce Ring, for outfielder Ben Johnson and relief pitcher Jon Adkins [1]. He is now part of the Padres bullpen, where he replaced Scott Linebrink as the 8th inning setup man before Trevor Hoffman closes the game. In 2009, Hoffman signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and Bell was promoted to closer. Bell jogs out from the bullpen and into a save situation accompanied by the song “Blow Me Away” by Breaking Benjamin.

Bell was named to the National League All-Star Team on July 5. He, along with teammate Adrian Gonzalez, represented the Padres at the 2009 MLB All-Star Game in St Louis on July 14. Bell came on in the 8th inning and gave up a triple to Curtis Granderson followed by a sacrifice fly to Adam Jones to make the score 4-3 in the American League's favor; Bell was the losing pitcher in the game. He is currently third in the National League with 31 saves, and has posted a 2.22 ERA over 53.2 innings, with 60 strikeouts and three blown saves. Bell ended the 2009 season leading the National League in saves with 42 in his first year as a full time closer.

[edit] Scouting report

Generally a power pitcher, Bell has averaged nearly a full strikeout per inning but also proved to be hittable in his 2005 sophomore season allowing 10.8 hits per nine innings and a very high 5.59 earned run average. Bell has a 94-98 mph fastball, usually sitting between 95 and 96. He also has an 11-5 curveball in the low 80s[2].

[edit] Personal information

Bell is married with four children and resides in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Bell's cousin is actor and musician Drake Bell. Former basketball player Erik Meek is also his cousin.

[edit] See also

List of Major League Baseball saves champions

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Heath Bell

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

Preceded by José Valverde	National League Saves Champion 2009	Succeeded by incumbent

Contents