And Then There Was One

After a season with two skippers and weeks of speculation following interviews with 12 candidates, the Cincinnati Reds have named David Bell as the club’s 63^rdmanager. The Redlegs signed Bell to a three-year contract that will run through the 2021 season and includes a club option for 2022. As I write this, he is scheduled to be formerly introduced as the team’s next manager on Monday at 11 a.m. 

Bell was named as one of three finalists for the position along Joe Girardi and Brad Ausmus. Girardi was the favorite to secure the job before he withdrew his name on Friday. Bell grew up in the Queen City as his grandfather Gus and his father Buddy both played for the Reds with Buddy currently serving as a senior adviser for the team. David played baseball for Moeller High School, the same school that featured future Reds players and hall of famers Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr., and played in the big leagues for 12 years as a second and third baseman. 

The Redlegs hired a manager in Bell who brings with him experience in developing and coaching players. Aside from serving as the San Francisco Giants’ vice president of player development for the 2018 season, Bell was also a manager in the Reds’ farm system from 2009-11 at the Double-A level with the Carolina Mudcats and at the Triple-A level with the Lousiville Bats in 2012. He was also the third base coach for the Chicago Cubs in 2013 and was the St. Louis Cardinals’ bench coach from 2014-17. Bell will attempt to reverse the fortunes of a Redlegs team that has not reached the playoffs since 2013 and has had more than 90 losses in each of the last four seasons.

I am excited to see what David Bell can do as the new manager of the Reds. The last four seasons have been tough to bear for Reds Country as the team continuously finished in the basement of the National League Central. Hopefully his combination of managerial experience and player development will enable the Reds to rise from the ashes and compete with the best in Major League Baseball once again.

Go Redlegs!