George Bell

Jorge Antonio Bell Mathey (born October 21, 1959), better known as George Bell, is a Dominican former left fielder and American League MVP in Major League Baseball who played 12 seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays (1981, 1983–1990), Chicago Cubs (1991) and Chicago White Sox (1992–1993). Bell batted and threw right-handed. Career Originally signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1978, Bell was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1980 Rule 5 draft. Bell was discovered in the Dominican Republic by Blue Jays scout Epy Guerrero. He made his major league debut as a pinch runner on April 9, 1981 against the Detroit Tigers. Bell appeared in 60 games during the 1981 season, batting .233 with five home runs and 12 runs batted in (RBI). In 1982, he spent the season with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, where he hit just .200 with three home runs and 19 RBI in 37 games. In 1983, he split the season between Syracuse and Toronto. With the Blue Jays, Bell batted .268 with two home runs and 17 RBI in 39 games. In 85 games with Syracuse, he hit .271 with 15 home runs and 59 RBI. Bell's first season as a regular was in , and he finished his first full season batting .292 with 26 home runs and 87 RBI in 159 games. That season, he first teamed with fellow outfielders Lloyd Moseby and Jesse Barfield. That outfield, along with solid starting pitching, led the Blue Jays to their first-ever American League East division title in . Bell caught a fly ball, off the bat of Ron Hassey, for the final out in the 5–1 victory over the New York Yankees on October 5, clinching the division title for the Blue Jays. Despite Bell's .321 average in the ALCS, they lost the series to the Kansas City Royals. His best season came in , although the Blue Jays fell two games short of the Detroit Tigers in the division race. Bell finished with a .308 batting average, .352 on-base percentage, .608 slugging percentage, 111 runs, 47 home runs, a league-leading 134 RBI, and a major-league leading 369 total bases in 156 games. He was awarded the American League MVP award that year.