Bell had what would have been an adequate season in Pittsburgh, but wasn't up to the expectations for a player getting half his at-bats in Bank One Ballpark. Released in the offseason.

Bell was originally acquired 7-12-1998 from the Hollywood Dragons (now the Germantown Dragons) along with Bernie Williams for Jeff Montgomery and Carlos Hernandez.

Oh no, I feel another Pirates story coming on... The Zingrods' owner has a friend (a Pittsburgh native) who thinks any talented player who plays in Pittsburgh should stay in Pittsburgh forever, making minimum wage, turning a blind eye to all offers from other teams and refusing to be traded. He calls Bell a deserter because he let (?) himself be traded. Of course, he also doesn't care much for Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, Jeff King, Denny Neagle and so on.

Update 10-14-1999: Well, that turned out to be one of the more boneheaded moves the Zingrods made before the 1999 season started, but who knew he was going to have a career year?