Mike Bell

Current Position: Vice President of Player Development, Arizona Diamondbacks

Age: December 7, 1974 (44)

Managerial Experience: Yakima Bears (2007), Visalia Rawhide (2008-2009)

The younger brother of David Bell, Cincinnati Reds manager, Mike Bell is a new name on the Mets’ radar. Bell is currently serving as the Arizona Daimondbacks’ Vice President of Player Development. He’s also the son of former long-time player and manager, Bob Buddy Bell and grandson of original Met, Gus Bell.

Bell is set to be one of four men to interview for the Mets’ managerial opening (so far), along with Carlos Beltran, Joe Girardi, and Derek Shelton.

In 1993 he was taken in the first round of the draft at number thirty by the Texas Rangers. He played in just 19 games in the Major Leagues with the Reds in 2000. Bell spent time in the Mets’ system in 1998 and 1999 between St. Lucie, Binghamton, and then Triple-A affiliate Norfolk Tides. Bell would retire in 2005 after five straight season in the minor leagues.

According to the Diamondbacks’ Front Office Directory, “Bell spent the previous 6 seasons as the Director of Player Development before being promoted to his current position in November 2016. In 8 seasons overseeing D-backs affiliates, 31 clubs have made playoff appearances and 8 have claimed league championships, including Reno’s 2012 Triple-A Championship. In 2014, the D-backs had a franchise record-setting 5 postseason teams.”

Bell just finished his 13th season with the Diamondbacks, three of which have been in his current position. Prior to that, Bell served as the Director of Player Development which specifically oversaw their minor league teams, where eight of them won a league title.

Bell has been in Arizona’s Player Development department for nine seasons, in which 42 homegrown players have reached the major leagues. Of note, one of the more recent Directors of Player Developments is currently a World Series championship manager, being AJ Hinch.

In 2007, Mike Bell was named in the “Mitchell Report”, which was a report released by former Democratic Senator George J. Mitchell of Maine, naming MLB players that he had been found in use of performance enhancing drugs. Bell was named as a client of known dealer Kirk Radomski, and later admitted to taking Human Growth Hormones and using the majority of them in 2003 during his minor league stint with Diamondbacks’ Triple-A team.

Despite not much managerial experience, Bell has become a candidate for managerial openings. Last year, he interviewed for the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers jobs. This year, he is going to be one of four known candidates to receive an in-person interview for the Mets job. While there may be some skepticism about his ability to do the job, his brother believes he is capable of the job.

Speaking with Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun, Bell would say, “As far as Mike, he’s had so much experience leading, and leading a player development system is great preparation for really anything in this game, because there’s so many people that you’re in charge of. You have 80-plus staff and 200-plus players, and the experience and practice of creating a culture and creating a great environment to work in, he’s definitely prepared. I know he would do great, given the opportunity.”

What They Say

AJ Hinch – “His passion for the game and eagerness to pass along his knowledge and experience is a perfect combination for our players in Yakima. We are lucky to have him and I look forward to his time in Yakima.” (K.L. Wombacher, MiLB.com)

Tony La Russa – “Our Minor League system — our player development guy, Mike Bell, is as good as anyone I’ve ever been around. Every team I went to — all five of them — had a great vibe.” (Richard Justice, MiLB.com).

Recommendation

Mike Bell is an interesting candidate. His experience in player development shows an ability to work with younger players, which is a must on a roster with such a young core as the Mets. Bell worked under AJ Hinch for many years, and one can only hope he picked up a thing or two during their time together.

On the other hand, Bell will enter a high-profile job with no Major League managerial experience, no experience handling the press, and will begin his first gig in a crucial season for the Mets in which they will likely have a playoff-or-bust outlook. While Bell certainly has the chance to become a solid manager, the Mets would also be taking a risk with someone with only three years of experience as a coach, all of which came at the least a decade ago, which is less than ideal for an opening as intense as the Mets’ opening will be. Whether or not Bell will be a good manager is still to be determined, but it nay be best for both sides of Bell gets that opportunity with a different organization.

That’s not to say Bell couldn’t prove to be an asset to the team. As we saw with Bob Geren being interviewed by the Los Angeles Dodgers, this creates an opportunity to learn about Bell and see if there is a spot for him in the Mets organization. That could be in Luis Rojas‘ role as a Quality Control Coach. Maybe, he’ll accept a job as a bench coach. These could be good fits for him, but the one that isn’t is manager.

By Jack Ramsey and John Sheridan