When the rosters had been unveiled Sunday, Goldschmidt and Alonso had been joined on the NL roster by C.J. Cron of the Colorado Rockies, his crew’s lone choice. Star outfielder Juan Soto was the Nationals’ solely consultant. Does he suppose Bell ought to be becoming a member of him July 19 at Dodger Stadium?
“Yeah, definitely,” Soto stated. “He’s putting up the numbers. He has everything to be an all-star. Why not?”
How about hitting coach Darnell Coles?
“I’ll be highly disappointed if he’s not,” Coles stated Saturday.
Bell nonetheless may make the All-Star Game as an harm substitute, and there’s no query that the 29-year-old has been the Nationals’ most constant hitter. The change hitter leads the crew in batting common (.304), hits (96) and doubles (19), and he’s second amongst NL first basemen in batting common and on-base proportion (.386).
When he seems at stats to see how he stacks up in opposition to his friends, Bell stated he usually considers on-base-plus-slugging proportion, the place he checks in at .877. He’s fourth amongst NL first basemen — trailing the three NL all-stars and only a tick behind Alonso (.881).
Bell acquired off to a sluggish begin final yr after testing constructive for the coronavirus, then discovered his rhythm towards the finish of the season. Entering this yr, he needed to do a greater job of making the most of runners in scoring place.
In April, Bell felt he hit too many double play balls with males on, a results of pondering an excessive amount of about transferring runners over as a substitute of driving them in. Bell completed the month hitting .365, however 55 p.c of the balls he hit had been grounders, a lot of them into the shift. So he modified his strategy.
“Sometimes I get caught up in, ‘Just get the runner over,’ ” he stated. “But if I can get balls on a line, that’s when the RBIs come. And that’s when the pressure’s off Nelson [Cruz] behind me.”
In June, Bell discovered the proper steadiness: His groundball proportion dropped to 46.8 p.c, and his energy numbers elevated. He had 16 extra-base hits in June after totaling 12 in the first two months.
Coles stated Bell is extraordinarily routine-oriented, which permits him to make changes to his swing midseason. But Coles didn’t need Bell to alter his swing too a lot.
“Sometimes what can end up happening is you can overthink things or you can add things that don’t necessarily need to be there,” he stated. “He’s been really good about not doing that. And my job is to make sure that he doesn’t take it to a point where [the change] doesn’t make sense.”
Early in his profession, regardless of which facet of the plate he was batting from, Bell’s stances and swings had been comparable. That modified in 2018 after a dialog with Pittsburgh Pirates teammate David Freese. Freese advised Bell {that a} former Cardinals teammate, Lance Berkman, considered himself as a distinct hitter from all sides of the plate.
Moving ahead, Bell approached the plate with two totally different swings — and he ended up a 2019 all-star with the Pirates. His proper facet is his pure one, so his knees are bent and he can let free with a brief, compact swing. The left-handed swing feels much less pure: He stands up straight so he can load and generate extra energy. He focuses on being quick together with his proper hand — his dominant hand — so he can generate a fast swing.
Bell’s preparation and swing changes have produced outcomes. But with the numbers he has put collectively, Bell won’t be round for much longer, given the Aug. 2 commerce deadline and his means to achieve free company in the offseason. Still, he has made the most of this season — even when he doesn’t make it to the All-Star Game.
“We always work our tails off in the offseason. … This time last year, I was hitting .224 — something like that,” Bell stated. “So for me to be able to kind of bounce back after last season, that slow start, and have a strong one, it’s just fueling the fire and knowing that what I’m doing is working.”