Rob Bell

Graduated in 1995 from Marlboro (NY) Central HS...Played baseball and basketball and also ran cross country in high school...Was selected by Atlanta in the third round of the 1995 First Year Player Draft and signed by Braves' scout John Stewart.

2007

Made his first appearances in the major leagues since May 2005 with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays...Allowed runs in 14 of his 30 games with the Orioles in 2007...His 5.94 ERA was third-highest among AL relievers and .327 opponents' batting average ranked 4th-highest...Also allowed the 5th-highest opponents' slugging percentage (.502) among AL relief pitchers...Pitched 2.0 or more innings in 12 of his 30 appearances...Was a spring training invitee and went 0-0 with a 0.69 ERA (13.0IP, 5H, 1ER) in 9 games, including one start...Missed the first month of the season with an infection on his right finger...Joined AAA Norfolk on May 1 and went 4-3 with a 2.97 ERA in 10 starts, allowing 3 ER or less and working at least 5.0 innings in each start...His contract was purchased from AAA Norfolk on June 19...Made his Orioles debut that day at San Diego, recording a walk & strikeout in 0.1 IP...Pitched a season-high 4.1 innings of one-hit relief on June 29 vs. the LA Angels...Earned 2 wins in the series at Chicago before the All-Star break: July 2 with a perfect inning of relief for his first victory since beating the O's with Tampa Bay on April 14, 2005, and July 4 with 1.2 IP in relief...Was charged with 7 runs in 1.1 IP on August 22 (Game 1) vs. Texas and 6 runs in 1.1 IP on September 5 at Tampa Bay...Was designated for assignment on August 30, cleared waivers and was assigned to AAA Norfolk before being re-added to roster on September 5...After allowing 6 ER in his first outing back on September 5, pitched to a 2.12 ERA (17.0IP, 4ER) over his final 8 appearances.

2006

Signed a minor league contract with Cleveland and spent the season with AAA Buffalo...Made his first 7 appearances in relief, then started 21 of his last 23 games...Went 2-1 with a save and a 3.00 ERA in 9 relief outings...Was 7-9 with a 4.43 ERA as a starter...Worked at least 5.0 innings in 20 of his 21 starts...Also pitched the final 5.1 innings in relief with a nodecision on May 19 vs. Pawtucket...Pitched a season-high 8.0 innings on August 14 at Pawtucket, allowing one run on 5 hits for the win...Went 3-0 with 3 no-decisions from July 18 through August 14, pitching to a 3.32 ERA (38.0IP, 14ER)...Went 0-2 with a no-decision in his final 3 starts (17.0IP, 12ER), beginning August 20, raising his ERA from 3.96 to final 4.25...Held right-handed batters to a .239 average (72-301)...Lefties hit .284 (73-257) off him...Earned his only save in his 3rd outing of the year on April 13 at Norfolk, closing with 1.1 scoreless innings...His 20 home runs allowed tied for 4th highest in the International League.

2005

Began the season with Tampa Bay before being sent to AAA Durham in mid-May...Made 3 starts for the Devil Rays, going 1-1, before being assigned to the bullpen...Allowed 2 runs in 6.0 innings with no-decision in his first start on 4/8 vs. Oakland before earning his lone win on 4/14 vs. the Orioles, going 6.0 innings again and allowing 5 runs (4 earned)...Allowed a career-high 10 runs in 1.1 inning in his final start on 4/18 at New York (AL), taking the loss...Made his next 5 appearances out of the bullpen before going on the 15-day disabled list on 5/14 for personal and psychological reasons...Was activated and designated for assignment on 7/9 and assigned to Durham, where he finished the year...Went 14-13 in his career with Tampa Bay, one of only 5 pitchers with at least 15 decisions to own a .500 career record as a Devil Ray.

2004

27-year old set career bests in wins (8) and ERA (4.46)...Is 13-12 in his Devil Rays career, just the 4th pitcher to own a .500 career record as a Devil Ray (min. 15 decisions)..joins Jim Mecir (14-5, .737), Lance Carter (12-8, .600) and Victor Zambrano (35-27, .565)...Re-signed with the Rays to a minor league deal and opened the season at AAA Durham...Went 5-0,1.69 ERA in 7 starts for the Bulls earning a promotion May 19...all wins were consecutive...In 2003, he also opened the year at Durham and was recalled for the season on June 14...Pitched mostly in the Rays rotation over the remainder of the season, but did have a couple of stints in the bullpen... Went 7-2, 3.13 (77.2-IP, 27-ER) against teams below .500 and 1-6, 6.55 versus clubs above .500 (45.1-IP, 33-ER)...Made 5 starts for the Rays upon joining the club (1-3, 6.23 ERA, 26-IP, 29-H, 18-ER) before being moved to the bullpen...Made 3 relief apps (1-0, 3.86 ERA, 11.2-IP, 11-H, 5-ER) before moving back into the rotation June 28 when the club optioned RH Chad Gaudin to AAA Durham...First win was May 31, 7-3 at Minnesota (IP-7, H-3, R-2, ER-2, BB-2, SO-4, HR-1)...It was Lou Piniella's career win number 1400...Was also Rob's first victory since Sept. 22, 2003 at Toronto, 5-4,over 22-game winner Roy Halladay...On June 19 at ARZ he pitched the final 7.0 innings (H-4,R-0),relieving Brazelton in the 3rd to record the 11-4 win...tied a club record for longest relief outing - also Carlos Reyes last July 6 vs. CWS...Followed that June 24 at Toronto...started the 6th with a 14-5 lead and pitched 3.2, allowing 8 runs (3 earned) all on 4 home runs...could not get the last out in the 9th as Trever Miller finished up...Rays won 19-13 as they set club records for runs and hits...Had his best outing as a Devil Ray in his last season appearance, October 1 at Detroit...recorded the 4-1 complete-game victory, just the second complete game of his career (first since Sep 13, 2000 vs. CHC) and the Rays' 3rd of the season (9.0-IP, 4-H, 1-R, 0-ER, 0-BB, 1-SO, 121 pitches)...was actually one out from his first-ever complete-game shutout but a B.J. Upton error at 3rd base led to a two-out RBI double by Pudge Rodriguez...the win clinched fourth place for the Rays and was win #69 matching the franchise record...Righties hit only .226 (57-252, HR-9), second best on staff behind Victor Zambrano (.219)...Led staff with 10 wild pitches (T-8th in AL)...With Durham he exited tied for the league lead in wins and 4th in ERA...had a 15.1 scoreless inning streak from April 28-May 13...in fact, allowed just 1 earned run over his last 3 starts (16.1-IP, 0.55 ERA)... Bulls lost his first start then went 6-0 over his last 6 starts...Held opponents to a .209 avg, including .118 (2-17) with runners in scoring position.

1995

Pitched in 10 games with Gulf Coast Braves in 1st pro season.

1996

Lead Northwest League in starts (16) and ranked 4th in innings (81) at Eugene.

1997

Tied for the South Atlantic League lead in wins (14) at Macon and was selected as Braves minor league pitcher of the year by USA Today.

1998

In final season in Atlanta organization, led Carolina League in innings (178.1) and strikeouts (197) at Danville...Tied for top spot in starts (28) and had league's 13th best era (3.28)...Topped Braves minor leaguers in innings and strikeouts and was rated as the league's best righthander.

1999

Made just 2 starts at Chattanooga before being disabled on April 20 with strained right elbow...Made 2 rehab starts with Gulf Coast Reds and was activated on July 20...Went 0-6, 3.73 in 1st 8 starts off d.l. before complete game shutout on Aug. 29 at Huntsville...Defeated Greenville, 2-1 in next start to earn Southern League pitcher of the week honors...Was 4-1, 4.76 in 8 starts at Phoenix in Arizona Fall League and ranked among league leaders in strikeouts (T3rd, 34) and wins (T5th)...Pitched 5 hitless innings on vs. Mesa to earn AFL pitcher of week, Oct. 12-18.

2000

In 1st major league season, ranked among N.L. rookie leaders in starts (T2nd, 26), strikeouts (3rd, 112), winning percentage (3rd, .467), innings (4th, 140.1), and wins (T4th, 7)...Started season in Reds' rotation and had no decision in major league debut on April 8 vs. the Cubs, retiring final 16 batters faced...Fanned 9 batters in that game, the most by a Red in his major league debut since records were 1st kept in 1968...Earned 1st major league win on April 19 vs. San Francisco...Was 4-6, 5.28 in 15 starts, 0-3, 9.60 in final 4 games, when optioned to Louisville on June 25...Was 4-0 in 6 starts for the Riverbats before recall on July 26...Went 3-2, 4.68 in last 11 outings...Lone ML complete game was 6-hit, 13-3 win on Sept. 3 vs. the Cubs...Tied for 6th in N.L. in wild pitches (11) and homers allowed (32).

2001

Was acquired by Texas from Cincinnati on June 15 and went 5-5, 7.18 in 18 starts the rest of the season...Overall, was 5-10, 6.67 (111 er/149.2 ip) in 27 starts with the Reds and Rangers, the 3rd highest era in the majors (10 or more ip)...Had no decision in 1st A.L. start on June 19 vs. Anaheim before recording 1st victory in next outing on June 24 at Oakland...That snapped 6-game losing streak over 2 seasons since win on Sept. 13, 2000 vs. the Cubs...That began 3-0, 4.38 (12 er/24.2 ip) effort over 4 starts, culminating with 8.2 shutout innings to defeat San Francisco, 2-0 on July 16...Was 4-0, 5.86 in 7 starts through July 27, the most victories without a loss for a Rangers' starter at beginning of Texas career since Aaron Sele began 5-0 in 1998...Was longest win streak of his career...Went 0-4, 10.45 (36 er/31 ip) in next 6 starts through Aug. 29 before going 1-1, 5.75 (20 er/31.1 ip) in last 5 games...Snapped an 8-start winless span (0-4) on Sept. 21 vs. Anaheim...Wore #6 with Texas, the 1st pitcher in team history with a single digit uniform number and one of 11 major league pitchers since 1960 to wear a number under 10...Changed to #30 in 2002...Was 0-5, 5.48 in 9 starts with the Reds, the 1st Cincinnati pitcher to begin a season 0-5 since Dave Burba was 0-8 to begin 1996...Was optioned to Louisville on April 7 and was 2-2, 3.33 in 5 games/4 starts before recall on May 5...Reds were 1-8 in his 9 starts, scoring just 29 total runs (3.2/game), 11 in 1st 6 starts (1.8/game)...Cincinnati scored just 14 runs while he was on the mound (1.6/game)...Of 5 defeats, had 2 each by one and 2 runs.

2002

Was 4-3, 6.54 (63 er/86.2 ip) in 15 starts and had a 2.45 era (2 er/7.1 ip) in 2 relief appearances over 4 stints with the Rangers...He ranked 5th on the staff in starts and innings (94)... Was recalled from Oklahoma on April 27 and won his 1st 2 starts, posting a 3.08 era (4 er/11.2 ip)...Allowed 6 runs (5 er) in 5.1 innings on May 7 vs. Chicago and was optioned to the RedHawks on May 8...Was recalled again on May 27 and was 0-1, 7.79 (15 er/17.1 ip) in 3 starts before returning to Oklahoma on June 9...Was promoted for a 3rd time on June 22, going 1- 1, 5.40 (12 er/20 ip) in 3 starts before being sent to Tulsa to make one start during the major league all-star break...Was recalled by Texas on July 15 and was 1-0, 6.58 (29 er/39.2 ip) in 8 games/6 starts before being optioned to Oklahoma for rest of year on Aug. 23...Worked 6 or more innings in 9 of 15 starts with his longest outing being 7.1 innings on June 27 against Anaheim...Matched career high and season best for a Texas pitcher with 9 strikeouts, June 8 vs. Atlanta...Made his 1st major league appearance in relief after 66 starts on Aug. 4 against Boston...Went 6-0, 3.67 in 13 games/12 starts at Oklahoma and Tulsa...Tied for the Pacific Coast League lead in shutouts (2) and tied for 4th in complete games (2) for the RedHawks...Worked 7 or more innings in 7 of 11 starts at Oklahoma...Pitched 6-hit complete game shutout with 11 strikeouts in final outing, April 19 vs. Salt Lake City...Made 4th pro relief appearance, May 9 against Las Vegas, then had a 3-hit cg shutout in next outing, May 14 against Fresno...Lost game 1 of PCL semifinal playoff series to Salt Lake City on Sept. 4, allowing 7 runs in 4.2 innings...In only start at Tulsa, worked 8 shutout innings to defeat Arkansas on July 9.

2003

Signed with Tampa Bay to a minor league contract on March 17 after he was released by the Texas Rangers on March 12...Opened the year at AAA Durham;joined the Rays on June 14...placed in the rotation and made 18 starts (19 overall apps.) over remainder of the season...Made his Rays debut June 14 against the Pirates at Tropicana Field...Lost 12-9 (IP-3.1, H-4, R-6, ER-6, BB-4, SO-2)...Was his first ML appearance since Aug. 22, 2002, for Texas at Fenway in relief and his first start since Aug. 17, 2002 vs.Toronto...Next turn was June 20 against the Marlins at Pro Player allowed just one hit in 6 innings (1-R/ER, 3-BB, 4-SO), a triple by Juan Pierre who later scored...left game tied 1-1 and Marlins won 3-1 in 11 innings on a Miguel Cabrera walk-off home run...First win as a Ray came in his 5th start, on July 8 at Oakland, 9-3,over defending Cy Young Award winner Barry Zito (6.0-IP, 4-H, 3-R/ER, 3-BB, 3-SO)...Had 2 of the Rays' 3 wins over Oakland...From July 2 he went 5-2 with 9 no decisions over final 15 starts, 16 apps. (ERA-4.91, IP-88.0, H-93, ER-48) lowering his ERA from 8.05 to a season-ending 5.52...season low was 5.29...Beat 22-game winner Roy Halladay in his next-to-last start of the season, Sept. 22 at SkyDome (6.2-IP, 2-H, 1-R/ER, 1-BB, 4-SO)...no-hit the Blue Jays thru 6 before Vernon Wells doubled to lead off the 7th...Wells later scored on a double by Bobby Kielty and Bell was done after 107 pitches...Halladay was ejected after hitting Baldelli in the 6th...score was 1-0 Rays when he left...Had his briefest outing of the season in his last start, Sept. 27 vs. the Red Sox, lasting just 2.1 (6-H, 4-R/ER, 1-BB, 0-K)...allowed a season-high 3 home runs after surrendering just a dozen through his first 18 outings...Best month was August: 4.21 ERA while going 1-1 (36.1-IP, 32-H, 17-ER)...Had 6 consecutive "quality starts" (6-IP, 3-ER) from Aug. 7 to Sept. 6 (IP-39.0, H-31, ER-16, 3.69)...the first Ray to put together 6 straight quality starts since Paul Wilson in his last 6 starts of 2001 (Aug. 28-Oct 7)...only 2 Rays have ever had longer streaks of consecutive "quality starts" - Julio Santana (10 in 1998) and Rolando Arrojo (7 in 1998)...Made 12 starts for AAA Durham, going 6-4 with a 4.02 ERA...was leading team in wins, innings and starts at the time of his promotion...First start of season,April 6 vs. Norfolk, lost 9-0 as he allowed 7 runs in 4 innings...After that opening assignment pitched to a 3.32 ERA (67.2 IP, 25 ER), allowing 3 earned runs or less in 9 of last 11 starts...won his last 4 decisions.