THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 4: GEORGE BELL

TL;DR

George Bell's career of mound-charging is traced through his Dominican roots, exploitation, MVP season, and fierce protectiveness of his one shot at a better life.

Key Points

• 1.Bell's backstory is defined by exploitation and racism. Signed out of the Dominican Republic amid 40% unemployment, he faced crooked agents, language barriers, and constant suspicion from American players who called him a hot dogger for playing with swagger.
• 2.A 1982 beaning nearly ended his career and shaped his no-tolerance policy. Minor league pitcher Lynn McLaughlin fractured Bell's cheek and jawbones; Bell recovered and reached the majors, but maintained a fierce willingness to fight any pitcher who came up and in.
• 3.Bell's June 1985 flying kick at Bruce Kison was a mound-charging landmark. After Kison hit him, Bell delivered a jump kick followed by a textbook left-right combination, knocking a catcher's helmet off — earning a perfect 5/5 rating and spawning a subgenre of kick-first mound charges copied by Otis Nixon, Sandy Alomar, and others.
• 4.His 1987 MVP season was overshadowed by misogyny and a manager feud. Bell screamed Susan Waldman out of the locker room while teammate Jesse Barfield stepped in graciously; simultaneously, his war with manager Jimmy Williams over being moved to DH resulted in suspensions, dugout brawls, and alleged racial remarks.
• 5.Bell's 1989 charge against Gene Nelson carried 5 years of compounded frustration. A blown ninth-inning lead including a Mark McGwire grand slam, three straight walk-off losses, and the Jesse Barfield trade all culminated the moment Nelson's pitch grazed him — producing an eruption rated 3/5 on the charger-pitcher scale.
• 6.The George Bell–Sammy Sosa trade is considered one of baseball's worst deals. After the 1990 season Bell signed with the Cubs, was traded to the White Sox in a package that included a 23-year-old Sosa, who became a generational hitter while Bell limped through one of the 50 worst position-player seasons by WAR.
• 7.Bell's final mound charge ended with him being laid out by Mo Vaughn. Boston rookie Aaron Sele knocked him down twice near the cheekbone; charging at age 33 with ruined knees, Bell was intercepted and flattened by Vaughn before he reached the mound, ending his career on a humiliating note before the White Sox declined to re-sign him.