{"id":766563,"date":"2026-07-16T16:14:15","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:14:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766563\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T16:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T16:14:15","slug":"i-was-pissed-why-move-to-dh-fuelled-bells-historic-opening-day-for-blue-jays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/766563\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I was pissed’: Why move to DH fuelled Bell\u2019s historic Opening Day for Blue Jays"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 1987, George Bell delivered one of the most iconic seasons in Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> history. The then-27-year-old smashed 47 homers, drove in 134 runs and hit .308 on his way to winning the club\u2019s first-ever American League MVP award.<\/p>\n

Despite Toronto\u2019s late-season collapse in 1987, you\u2019d think that Bell\u2019s relationship with the Blue Jays, coming off his landmark season, would be rock solid when they returned for spring training in 1988.<\/p>\n

But when the Blue Jays showed up for camp in Dunedin that following spring, there was a clear tension simmering between the Dominican outfielder and the team. All because the Blue Jays had made the decision to move Bell to the designated hitter spot for the upcoming season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, there\u2019s a lot of thought going into this idea,\u201d then-Toronto manager Jimy Williams said in archival footage in Part 2 of the Sportsnet documentary, The Blue Jays Way, commemorating the franchise’s 50th season. \u201cOverall, our idea\u2019s a good idea. I\u2019m in full agreement with it, and we\u2019re gonna go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

(The second part of The Blue Jays Way: Bell of the Ball will air on Sunday, July 19, following Toronto’s game against the San Diego Padres on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.)<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Blue Jays Way documentary on Sportsnet<\/p>\n

Sportsnet is giving fans a new way to celebrate the Toronto Blue Jays’ 50th season.
\n
\nThe Blue Jays Way is an in-depth, seven-part original series that documents the winding journey from the franchise’s beginnings to the 2026 run to the World Series.
\n
\nCheck out the second part of the documentary, Bell of the Ball, on Sunday, July 19, following Toronto’s game against the Chicago White Sox.<\/p>\n

Broadcast Schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

There was no mistaking Bell for a slick-fielding defender in left, as he led all major-league outfielders with 32 errors between 1985 and 1987, but still, the reigning MVP felt slighted by the team\u2019s decision to take the glove off his hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not a Gold Glove winner in the outfield,\u201d Bell said in the documentary. \u201cBut I went out there and tried.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1988? I was mad. I was pissed,\u201d he later added. \u201cCome on, it\u2019s a joke.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a player to have put up a season like Bell\u2019s in 1987, being named their league\u2019s top performer, and to come back the next year and, in essence, lose their job was perceived as a slap in the face by not just the three-time all-star, but his Blue Jays teammates as well.<\/p>\n

As for who made the final call to pull Bell from the field, there was some debate on whether it came from Williams in the dugout or then-general manager Pat Gillick in the front office \u2014 a question that appeared to be answered in The Blue Jays Way.<\/p>\n

\u201cJimy wanted to do it,\u201d Gillick said. \u201cDefensively, we\u2019d probably be better. That\u2019s the only reason I would think to have George DH.\u201d<\/p>\n

No matter where the decision came from, things reached a boiling point almost immediately as the Blue Jays ramped up for the regular season.<\/p>\n

Bell was slotted in as Toronto\u2019s DH for the opening game of spring training against the Boston Red Sox, and when the stadium announcer introduced the right-handed hitter for his first trip to the plate? No one was there to take the at-bat.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Georgie?\u201d Lloyd Moseby, centre-fielder and Bell\u2019s fellow member of the Killer B’s, recalled. \u201cOh, he\u2019s in the bullpen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Poor Rance Mulliniks, who had been on the bench for that spring opener and was shuffled into action as Bell lay on the grass in foul territory, much to Williams\u2019 dismay. The Blue Jays skipper ordered Bell into the clubhouse, and the outfielder was suspended and fined shortly afterward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a job, and when I come in for spring training, I got no job?\u201d Bell said. \u201cI (felt) betrayed. I was mad because of the way I was treated.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s agent, Randy Hendricks, would arrange a meeting between the Blue Jays outfielder, Williams, Gillick and team president Paul Beeston later that spring to turn down the temperature on the brewing conflict. And although Bell ultimately agreed to begin the year at DH, he was still unhappy serving in what Hendricks called at the time \u201ca lonely outcast position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regardless, Bell got the DH assignment once the regular-season opener against the Kansas City Royals finally arrived, batting cleanup as the Blue Jays prepared to face ace right-hander Bret Saberhagen.<\/p>\n

And what followed was a historic opening-day performance.<\/p>\n

Bell took Saberhagen deep three times in the game, blasting homers in the second, fourth and eighth innings as Toronto won 5-3 in Kansas City.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re laughing about it, because that\u2019s George Bell, right?\u201d Moseby said. \u201cFor him, he (told) everybody, \u2018Up yours.\u2019 And that was beautiful stuff, man. You can\u2019t make that kind of stuff up.\u201d<\/p>\n

The performance made Bell the first hitter in MLB history to hit three home runs on Opening Day \u2014 a feat that has been matched only three times in nearly 40 years since.<\/p>\n

\u201c(It) sends a message to everybody,\u201d right-fielder Jesse Barfield said. \u201cDon\u2019t mess with me. Let me play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Toronto and Kansas City resumed their season-opening series two days later, Bell found himself back in left field. In fact, he played left field for the remainder of that series against the Royals and served as the designated hitter in only six more games for the rest of the season, putting to rest any lingering controversy from spring training.<\/p>\n

\"MLBMLB on Sportsnet<\/p>\n

Watch the Toronto Blue Jays, Blue Jays Central pre-game, marquee MLB matchups, Jays in 30, original documentaries, the wild card, divisional series, championship series and entire World Series on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.<\/p>\n

Broadcast schedule<\/a><\/p>\n

In that opening-day lineup, Bell\u2019s slide to DH coincided with a move for Moseby to left, with rookie Sil Campusano taking over the duties in centre field. The then-22-year-old ended up playing in 73 games for the Blue Jays in 1988, but his performance wasn\u2019t quite enough to make Toronto\u2019s Game 1 alignment one that Williams returned to often.<\/p>\n

\u201cProbably from our standpoint, it was a mistake trying to move (Bell) out of left field and into the DH spot,\u201d Gillick said.<\/p>\n

With his role in left secured, Bell went on to hit 24 homers and drive in 97 runs in that 1988 season, but did see his OPS fall to .751 from his MVP-level .957.<\/p>\n

Although he never returned to the heights of his 1987 season, Bell\u2019s opening-day show in Kansas City added another memorable chapter to a legacy that earned him a place on the Blue Jays\u2019 Level of Excellence in 1996.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 1987, George Bell delivered one of the most iconic seasons in Toronto Blue Jays history. The then-27-year-old…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":766564,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-766563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766563","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=766563"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/766563\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/766564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=766563"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=766563"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=766563"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}