Memories of Heath Bell

[Guest Edgy DC]

Drafted in the 69th round (Dude!) by Tampa Bay but did not sign and instead signed later with the Mets as undrafted free agent.

Eight years in the minors.

Very professional and pholosophical attitude about riding the Norfolk Shuttle.

Reportedly a real family man that reguarly arrived off the shuttle with little more than pictures of his daughter for his locker.

A favorite of guys who like to analyze secondary and tertiary numbers.

The prototype of organization men, he makes his year-round home in St. Lucie.

Peace-out, Heath.

[A Boy Named Seo]

Those tree-trunk legs punishing a pair of well-built roller blades during ST.

[Guest Iubitul]

His cousin Drake stars in a tween targeted show on Nickelodeon - Drake & Josh

[Guest Yancy Street Gang]

Drake is really Heath's cousin? I didn't know that.

Chase from Zoey 101 is Errol Flynn's grandson.

[Guest ScarletKnight41]

He has three children, one of whom (the middle child, a daughter) has Down's Syndrome.

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Threw baseballs like you might throw darts, with a quick, wrist flourish at the end.

[Centerfield]

I remember Heath had a few complaints here and there. One was that he wanted to go back to his old style of pitching rather than the Peterson approach, which he eventually did to mixed results. Another, I believe, was that he once said he wasn't sure what his role was in the bullpen. I'm not sure either, but if I had to guess, I would say he was the guy the Mets brought in when they wanted the other team to score lots of runs.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Jeez, with the already reported news that John Ducey is Johnny Dickshot's grandson, it becomes clear that being somewhat related to a marginal ballplayer (or big-shot, reputedly super-endowed, possibly Nazi-sympathizing swashbuckling actor) is a stamped ticket for Tiger Beat cover action.

[G-Fafif]

Those high socks and that body when he first came up...gave hope to all us sartorially and somewhat gravitationally challenged fellas.

One of the first "Mets Weekly"s did a piece on him at home in St. Lucie. Showed him to be very funny, very self-effacing. Made me want to root hard for him.

But I never could get behind his cause fully (other than he was a Met and Mets are encouraged to flourish). Reasons?

1) He never pitched all that well (perhaps the yo-yo nature of his roster spot and role -- long man here, closer there -- took a toll on him).

2) It irked me he became a symbol for the post-Moneyball kneejerk thinking that the youngish guy from your minor leagues MUST be better than the older, name player who's being recycled. I remember a lot of gnashing of fan teeth over giving that dirty retread Roberto Hernandez a shot when fresh young Heath Bell was being unjustly ignored. Hernandez proved somebody knew what he was doing when he signed him. Bell, unfortunately, never did live up to his out-of-proportion hype.

That said, I hope he finds his groove in San Diego except against us.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

I was a member of the "Free Heath Bell" bandwagon for a while, once photoshopping his mug and name onto a "Free Tibet" picture, which I can't find anymore.

Middle-Reliever-Who-Seems-Like-Cool-Guy, they tend to come and go.

[Guest Iubitul]

The subject of one of the coolest photos of a ballplayer I have seen in a newspaper - the shot of him riding the 7 train in the times(I wish I could still find that image)

[Guest patona314]

his herky jerky motion seems to throw hitters off ther pace. if he can place his fastball just a little better, his change will be killer. I have a feeling we will be seeing him in the majors 10 years from now.

[MFS62]

He and I share a birth date (different years, of course).
It was cool having a Met born on that day.
Now.... emptiness.
Good luck, Heath.

Later