Heath Justin Bell...Married to Nicole...has 4 children, daughters Jasmyne and Jordyn and sons Reece and Rhett...Attended Rancho Santiago Community College...was a walk-on member of the baseball team...named freshman All-American in 1997...Is a 1996 graduate of Tustin (Calif.) High School...Drafted by Tampa Bay in the 69th round of the 1997 First-Year Player Draft but did not sign...Father was a United States Marine...grandfather was a scout in the Pirates' organization...cousin, Erik Meek, played basketball at Duke University from 1991-95...Participated in youth clinics as port of Major League Baseball's "Play Ball" program in China in 2008...Traveled U.S. Army Garrison Grafenwoehr in Germany in Feb. 2013 along with D-backs broadcaster Bob Brenly and D-backs Military Liaison Captain Jack Ensch for Fox Sports' "Spring Training to the Troops," a goodwill tour featuring current and former Major League Baseball players and personnel.
2013
Pitched in 69 games for Arizona, his only season with the D-backs, after arriving from Miami in a three-way trade the previous October…it was his seventh consecutive season of 60-plus apps, joining Matt Thornton (eight) as the only pitchers with an active streak that long. Ranks 3rd among all major leaguers with 166 saves over the past five seasons (2009-13), trailing only Jonathan Papelbon (173) and Mariano Rivera (170)... Began the season as closer and converted 15 of 19 saves before Brad Ziegler took over closing duty in early July…went 15-for-18 in save opps through July 3, but went 0-for-4 in save chances after that…finished the year with 7 straight scoreless apps spanning 7.2 innings... In 65.2 innings, totaled 72 SO and only 16 BB…his 2.19 BB/9 IP and 4.50 SO/BB ratio were both career bests... Recorded a 1.96 ERA (36.2-IP, 8-ER) in 35 road games, compared to a 6.83 ERA (29-IP, 22-ER) in 34 apps at Chase Field... Yielded a career-high 12 HR, tied with SD Huston Street for most among NL relievers.
2012
Went 4-5 with 19 saves and a 5.09 ERA (36 ER in 63.2 IP)
in 73 games in his first season with Miami...1 of 5 National League relievers with at least 10 holds
and 10 saves, joining the Giants' Santiago Casilla, Marlins' Steve Cishek, Nationals' Tyler Clippard and Giants'
Sergio Romo...Led the Marlins in saves and appearances...73 appearances were his most since 2008 with San Diego (74)...Was 2-0 with a 3.10 ERA (10 ER in 29.0 IP) after the All-Star Break after going 2-5 with a 6.75 ERA (26 ER in 34.2
IP) in the first half...27 of his 33 second-half outings
were scoreless...Was 4-1 with 11 saves in 13 chances at Marlins Park, compared to 0-4 with 8 saves in 14 chances on the road...Converted 14 straight save chances from May 18-July 1...Saved the Marlins' 4-3, 15-inning win on June 16 vs. Tampa Bay...according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only
other pitcher to earn a save in an extra-inning game of
that length or longer was the Cubs' Todd Wellemeyer on
May 15, 2003 @ Brewers (17 innings)...Made 500th career appearance on Sept. 11 @ Phillies
2011
Named Padres' Pitcher of the Year (Clyde McCullough Award) by San Diego chapter
of Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) after posting third-straight
season with 40-or-more saves. Finished season with 43 saves, second most in career,
becoming just second Padre to have three 40-save seasons (Trevor Hoffman had
nine)...Tied for sixth-most saves in Majors and tied for fourth-most in National League...Tied for fifth-most saves in a season in Padres' history (also, Trevor Hoffman in 2000,
'01 and '05)...Recorded 26 saves in first half, most ever by a Padre at All-Star break. Passed Trevor
Hoffman, who had 25 saves in first half three times (1998, 2005 and '07)...Named to third-straight NL All-Star team. Faced one batter in Midsummer Classic,
retiring Cleveland's Jhonny Peralta on a pop out...Earned 100th save of career on May 14 at Colorado...Converted 41 consecutive save opportunities from May 29, 2010-May 3, 2011, tying
Trevor Hoffman (August 24, 1997-July 25, 1998) for longest such streak in Club history.
Streak tied Rod Beck (August 19, 1993-April 29, 1995) for fourth-longest saves streak in
Major League history...Set new franchise records for Padres for consecutive games and innings pitched
without allowing a home run. Streaks lasted 99 games and 102.0 innings from April
20, 2010-July 5, 2011. San Francisco's Aubrey Huff snapped streak on July 14 in San
Diego; San Francisco's Juan Uribe had been last player to homer off Bell, on April 19,
2010...Allowed home run to Mike Cameron on August 21 vs. Florida, one of five blown
saves. Was first home run allowed to a right-handed hitter since April 19, 2010 vs. SF
(Juan Uribe), snapping a streak of 215 consecutive at-bats against right-handed hitters
without allowing a home run...Converted a save in four-straight days twice: May 28-31 and June 27-30. Has now
accomplished feat three times in career (also, August 10-13, 2010).
2010
Named MLB Delivery Man of the Year, which recognizes
the most outstanding relief pitcher of the regular season
as voted on by a panel from Major League Baseball, after
converting a career-high 47 of 50 save opportunities, leading
the Majors with a 94.0 save percentage and ranking second
in the Majors with 47 saves in 2010.
Was named Rolaids Relief Man of the Year and Reliever of the Year
by Sporting News...Recorded his second-straight 40-save season and the 12th in
franchise history, becoming just the second Padre to accomplish
the feat twice (Trevor Hoffman, nine 40-save seasons)...His 47 saves in 2010 rank second most ever in San Diego history
(Hoffman, 53 in 1998) and his 94.0 save percentage ranked thirdbest
in franchise history behind Rod Beck (100.0%, 20/20 in 2003)
and Hoffman (98.1% 53/54 in 1998)...His 45th save on 9/29 vs. CHI passed Mark Davis (44 in 1989) for the most ever by a Padre not named Trevor
Hoffman...Ended the season on a streak of converting each of his last 34 save opportunities, from 5/29 on...was 4-1 with a 2.20
ERA (12 ER/49.0 IP) and 58 strikeouts in 46 outings over that span...is the longest such streak by a Padre not named
Trevor Hoffman...is the fourth longest such streak in Padre history and the longest since Hoffman converted 38-straight
in 2005...His 1.93 ERA ranked fifth lowest among all National League relievers...Selected to his second-straight NL All-Star team...worked 0.1 inning, retiring his only batter
faced in Torii Hunter (LAA) to end the fifth inning...Converted 28 of 29 save opportunities while posting a 1.59 ERA (6 ER/34.0 IP) and limiting
opposing batters to a .213 average in 32 outings on the road...Allowed only home run on 4/19 vs. SF, not allowing a home run over his final 62 outings
(65.0 IP)...62 straight outings without allowing a homer is the second longest such
streak in San Diego history to Joe Thatcher's streak of 67 straight games (6/19/09-
6/28/10)...Had four four-out saves and two five-out saves...stranded all nine of his inherited
runners on the year.
2009
Recorded a National League-leading 42 saves in 48 opportunities in his first year as the Padres
full-time closer...appeared in 68 games, going 6-4 with a 2.71 ERA (21 ER/69.2 IP).
Named the Padres Pitcher of the Year and winner of the annual Fireman's Award following the season...winner of the Rolaids
Relief Man Award for the national league...Recorded the 11th 40-save season in franchise history, becoming the third Padre to accomplish the feat (Hoffman, Davis)...
tallied an 87.5 save percentage that ranked sixth in the NL...Named MLB Delivery Man of the Month for April, notching eight saves and a 0.00 ERA (0 ER/8.2 IP) in nine relief
appearances...Did not allow a run over his first 17.0 innings of the season, spanning 16 games from 4/7-5/20...perfect 11-for-11 in save
opportunities over that stretch...limited opponents to a .125 batting average, never allowing multiple hits in a game...
recorded 22 strikeouts, averaging 1.29 per IP...First blown save of the season came in his 15th opportunity, surrendering two runs 5/30 at COL...prior to that game, allowed
one run over 19.2 innings...leadoff single by Clint Barmes marked the first hit surrendered to a right-handed hitter (previously
0-for-32)...three of six blown saves came against Rockies...2.89 ERA (15 ER/46.2 IP) in save opportunities...2.35 ERA (6 ER/23.0 IP) in 20 non-save opportunities...Limited right-handers to a .138 average (16-for-116) while lefties hit .275 (38-for-138).
2008
Ranked among National League relievers in wins (T-5th), holds
(T-4th) and strikeouts (T-13th)...tied for 13th among all NL hurlers
in appearances...San Diego was 45-29 when he pitched...Held opponents to a .229 average (66-for-288), including a .207
mark (31-for-150) against left-handed batters...opponents hit
just .203 (25-for-123) with runners on.and professionally in Spain...Scored upon 18 times in 74 games...Went 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA (10 ER/38.2 IP) in 39 home games
compared to 2-5 with a 4.81 mark (21 ER/39.1 IP) in 35 outings
on the road...Went 6-1 with 10 holds and a 1.67 ERA (7 ER/37.2 IP) in 35 games
from 4/23-7/11...scored upon in just four outings, going 6-0 with
a 1.42 mark (4 ER/25.1 IP) in 24 appearances from 5/20-7/11...Compiled a streak of 11 consecutive scoreless outings (11.1 IP)
from 5/20-6/7...Perfect 4-0 with a 1.88 mark (3 ER/14.1 IP) in 14 June games...
tied for Major League lead for relief wins in June (Joel Hanrahan, WSH)...Yielded no runs and one hit over 10 games (9.1 IP) from 8/9-9/8.
2007
Set career highs in strikeouts (102), innings pitched (93.2), games (81), holds (34), wins (6) and saves (2)...ranked first among Major League relievers in strikeouts and innings pitched...ranked among NL relievers in wins (T-4th), games (T-5th), and ERA (5th, 2.02)...held opponents scoreless in 69 of his 81 appearances,
limiting hitters to a .185 batting average against... right-handers hit .157 (27-for-172) off him... stranded 27 of 34 inherited runners...did not allow a run in his final nine games and 12.1 innings pitched...picked up his first career save with a scoreless 10th, 8/23 at NYM...his second save came 8/29 vs. ARI...did not allow a run over seven appearances, 8/3-16 (8.0 IP)...held opponents scoreless over 11 appearances (12.0 IP) 5/18-6/8, yielding just seven hits...allowed just one hit in 9.1 shutout frames over eight outings, 4/24-5/7.
OUT OF THE GATES: Allowed one run 4/21 at COL, snapping his scoreless innings streak at 10.1 innings to begin the season...did not allow a run in his first seven appearances of 2007.
WORKHORSE: Paced the Padres by appearing in 81 games, ranking second on the franchise single-season list (Craig Lefferts, 83 in 1986)...his 102 relief strikeouts rank tied for fifth on the club's all-time single-season list.
LATE-INNING LOCKDOWN: Tallied his first career save with a scoreless inning of relief 8/23 at NYM...collected his second save 8/29 vs. ARI with 1.0 shutout inning...led the team with 34 holds.
2006
Summary: Appeared in 22 games for the Mets, going 0-0 with a 5.11 ERA (21 ER/37.0 IP), 35 strikeouts and 11 walks... held opponents scoreless in 11 of his final 16 games...matched a career high, working 3.0 innings of relief Sept. 15 at Pittsburgh (also Sept. 3, 2004 at Philadelphia)...worked 6.0 consecutive scoreless innings from June 11-22, followed by 7.0 scoreless frames from July 16-Sept. 8...recorded
at least one strikeout in 18 of his 22 appearances...had five
different stints with the Mets throughout the course of the season...split the year between New York and Triple-A Norfolk where he was 3-3 with a 1.29 ERA (5 ER/35 IP) in 30 games...recorded
a team-high 12 saves at Norfolk, collecting his 100th minor league save in Game 1 of a doubleheader, April 23 vs. Richmond...moved into third place on Norfolk's all-time saves
list with his 42nd save on August 18 vs. Charlotte...collected 56 strikeouts in his 35.0 innings of work with the Tides (14.4 K/9.0 IP), holding opponents to a .208 average (27-for-130).
Heath at home: Did not allow a run at home for either the Mets (14.1 IP) or Tides (19.2 IP), combining to toss 34.0 shutout frames at home in 2006 for the two clubs.
Can't touch this: Recorded at least one strikeout in 28 of his 30 appearances with Norfolk...struck
out multiple batters on 21 occasions, including five three-K performances and one four-strikeout game May
15 at Columbus (1.1 IP).
2005
Bell had Major League service for the second time in 2005, and it brought success and disappointment. His work was uneven, as his 5.59 ERA in 42 games and 46 2/3 innings suggests. He hit a lot of bats -- giving up 56 hits. And his strikeouts, 43, weren't enough to convince Willie Randolph that he could get outs with runners on
base. Assigned to Triple-A on July 26, he returned to the big leagues on Aug. 23, but
made only four appearances thereafter and none between Aug. 31 and Sept. 28.
2004
Tossed a career-high 7.1 scoreless innings in his last four contests dating back to September 25th...Notched at least one strikeout in 12 of his 17 games (27 strikeouts in 24.1 innings)...Earned his first career hold on Sept. 16 vs. Atlanta...Stranded two of three runners in a 9-4 victory...Recorded a bullpen season-high six strikeouts in a career-high 3.0 innings of work on Sept. 3 at Philadelphia...Made his major league debut with 2.0 scoreless innings and three strikeouts on Aug. 24 vs. San Diego...Recalled for a second time on August 30th...Also was with the Mets from Aug. 24-Aug. 25...Was tied for seventh in the International League with 16 saves prior to his promotion to the majors...Posted a 1.46 ERA in 11 games with the Tides in July...Hurled 12.1 innings, permitted eight hits, three runs, two earned, with three walks and 20 strikeouts.
2003
Went 2-3 with three saves and a 4.71 ERA (26 ER/49.2 IP) in 40 games for Norfolk...struck out 54,
averaging 9.8 K/9.0 IP, while walking only eight.
2002
Split the season between Norfolk and Binghamton, combining to go 4-4 with a 2.60 ERA (20 ER/69.2 IP) and 11 saves...second among Eastern League relievers
with 11.6 K/9.0 IP (49 K/38.0 IP) for Binghamton...fourth in the league with a .168 opponent batting average
(22-for-131).
2001
Spent the entire season in Binghamton, going 3-1 with four saves and a 6.02 ERA (41
ER/61.1 IP) in 43 games...struck out 55, making it the only minor league season in which he did not average
at least one strikeout per inning pitched.
2000
Posted a 5-1 record with a 2.55 ERA (17 ER/60.0 IP) and
75 strikeouts in 48 relief appearances for Single-A St. Lucie...led Florida State League relievers in saves (23)
andK/9.0 IP (11.7)...also was fifth in appearances and fourth in games finished (37).
1999
Appeared in 55
games for Single-A Capital City, going 1-7 with 25 saves and a 2.60 ERA (18 ER/62.1 IP)...struck out 68 and
walked 17 while holding opponents to a .203 average (47-for-232)...finished fourth in the South Atlantic
League in saves and third in appearances.
1998
Made his professional debut with Rookie-Level Kingsport,
going 1-0 with eight saves and a 2.54 ERA (13 ER/46.0 IP)...struck out 61 and walked 11.
