San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
PADRES FIRST BASEMAN SETTLING IN
First baseman Josh Bell was packaged into the deal that sent him and outfielder Juan Soto to the Padres at the trade deadline. Now in his seventh major league season, Bell has a career OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .823, placing him in the upper echelon of hitters. He was a National League Rookie of the Year finalist in 2017 and an All-star in 2019 while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he played for five seasons (alongside teammate Joe Musgrove) before being traded to the Nationals in 2021. Originally an outfielder, Bell transitioned to first base while in the minors due to the Pirates’ log jam in the outfield. A native of Irving, Texas, Bell is known by those close to him as “JB.”
Q:
Most players sound so calm and collected after a trade happens, like it's no big deal to be uprooted in an instant and moved to another team. I want the realistic version. There has to be some stressful moments or times where it's very emotional or intense, even leading up to it.
A:
For the most part, I did my best of trying to stay off my phone. I let my wife handle that. She was like, ‘Oh, so do you think we're going to Milwaukee? Are we going to the Astros?' I said babe, stay off the internet. They don't know what they're talking about . ... .
Q:
Who taps you on the shoulder and says you're going somewhere else? Or did you get a call?
A:
I got a call early in the morning. Our general manager with the Nats called me probably at eight o'clock. Missed the phone call, woke up at 9:30, like, anything happen? He said something's gonna happen here in a couple of hours. And then he called back, A.J. (Preller) called, my agent called. And then it was just up and go . ... We had a flight that night, presser the next morning and then a game that night.
Q:
Let's go back to Irving, Texas, where you grew up, deep in Friday night lights territory. You didn't play football. Why?
A:
It was all my dad. My dad grew up in Houston. He was one of the fastest kids in his high school, went to state for track, ran the high hurdles, got a scholarship to play football at (Southern University). He was a receiver back then and ended up tearing his knee up twice. Surgery back then wasn't what it is now, so he had to recoup from that and it got to a point where he's like, ‘If I ever have a son, he's not playing the sport. He's gonna play something else, whether it's baseball or basketball.' ... I'm definitely thankful for his foresight.
Q:
Basketball was originally your jam, right? You joked that you peaked in middle school. A:
Yeah, I thought I was going to be the No. 1 overall pick in basketball up until high school. I played in AAU tournaments and found myself scoring 20 points a game and as I got older and older, I realized I wasn't jumping as high. I wasn't as tall (Bell is 6-foot-4) as the other kids. A lot of kids were a little bit faster than me. I found myself going from the starting roster to the bench, like I was trying to be Sixth Man of the Year (laughs). I get into high school and I made varsity as a freshman playing baseball, and I made the freshman team playing basketball. So that was the first writing on the wall.
Q:
How did your dad make you a switch-hitter?
A:
I remember my dad sitting on a bucket and he had a ball on a string, like a lazy-man soft toss. I would hit it. And then he would flip me around, change my hands and I'd hit; that was at age 4 or 5 growing up. Every at-bat, I'd switch.
Q:
It sounds like your dad has had a huge influence on your life and career. What kind of impact has he had on you?
A:
He's been my best friend, my No. 1 supporter from the moment I picked up the bat for the first time until now. He watches every game, he watches every atbat. If I ever need to pick up the phone and give somebody a call, he's the first person if I need some ears. He's so positive, too. I can have an 0-for-15 stretch or a 15for-15 stretch and he'll say the same thing: ‘You got this, keep going. You're here for a reason and this is all a blessing, so just enjoy the ride.'
Q:
Let's talk about your college years or actually, your almost
college years. While in high school, you committed to the University of Texas, on a baseball scholarship. You were so sure about it that you wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Baseball, telling teams not to draft you… but you ended up eventually signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates. What changed your mind?
A:
All my friends are going off to college — I went to high school with Jordan Spieth and he was going to UT as well — and I thought that our friend group could really grow together for a few years in college. I ended up sending out the letter: ‘Please don't draft me, I don't want to have to think about numbers or anything like that. I just want to be able to go off to school, and I'll see you guys in a few years. I'll be ready then.'
Actually get a phone call from the Rangers on draft night and (Preller) is in the room. He was with the Rangers back then. And they're calling me like, ‘Are you sure?' And I'm like, ‘Yeah, for sure. Draft me in three years, it'll be a great story. I'll go to UT and then get drafted by the Rangers.' I end up getting picked up by the Pirates (in the second round) and go off to summer school at UT and meet some of the teammates there . ... And a lot of the seniors are like, ‘JB, this is fun and all but the big leagues is the most important thing. This might be your best chance of making it.' I had some hard talks with my family, hard talks with my friends who were like, ‘JB, don't do it, we're not even there yet.' But I made that decision and I'm pumped about it. It took me a little bit to get through it. But here I am in the big leagues today, and I'm definitely thankful for that.
Q:
You were drafted by the Pirates in the second round, but you were consistently projected as a first-rounder. Teams just didn't want to risk it because you had written that letter. Did Preller remember that story?
A:
Oh yeah. That phone call right when I got traded, he was like, ‘Yeah, I missed out on you 12 years ago, I'm not gonna make the same mistake again.' I was pretty pumped that he remembered.