Bell was the brother of current Reds' manager David Bell. He is the son of former Reds' player Buddy Bell and the grandson of Gus Bell.
Mike was the top pick of the Texas Rangers out of Moeller High School. The Arizona Diamonbacks picked him in the expansion draft but he didn't make the Major Leagues until 2000 when he played in 19 games for the Reds'. That was the extent of his playing career. But Mike stayed in baseball.
He worked in the Arizona system for 13 years with the last nine in the player development department, where he supervised the development of Colerain High's Ryan Atkinson, before taking the job of bench coach for the Minnesota Twins last season. He was one of the final candidates for the Baltimore Orioles job in 2019.
Mike developed 47 Major League players while in the Diamondbacks system. The minor league system had 36 affiliates make the playoffs and 11 won championships, including three in his last season with Arizona.
His son Luke is a sophomore right handed pitcher for the Xavier Musketeers.
His grandfather, Gus, played for the Reds for nine of his 15 big league seasons from 1953 through the pennant winning season of 1961. He had three at bats in the World Series against the New York Yankees. He was an original New York Met, as a pick in the expansion draft.
Mike's father Buddy, played for the Reds' from 1985 to 1988. He spent 18 seasons as a player, managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals over nine seasons.
Brother David, like his father, broke into the Major Leagues with the Cleveland Indians, making his debut on May 3, 1995. His grandfather passed away four days later on May 7. David played 12 years in the big leagues. He was a manager in the Reds' minor league system and a coach with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals before he was named manager of the Reds for the 2019 season.
Reds' manager David Bell left camp today to be with family. The Reds are being guided by Freddie Benevides until Bell returns.
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