What years did Buddy Bell play?

Buddy Bell played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1989.

Was Buddy Bell a pitcher?

No. Buddy Bell was a position player (Third Baseman).

How many home runs did Buddy Bell hit?

Buddy Bell hit 201 career home runs with 2514 hits.

What was Buddy Bell's career batting average?

Buddy Bell batted .279 over his career, with 2,514 hits in 8,995 at bats.

How many RBI did Buddy Bell have?

Buddy Bell drove in 1,106 runs in his career.

Is Buddy Bell in the Hall of Fame?

No. Buddy Bell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Buddy Bell

Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1972-1989)

Buddy Bell was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1989 for 4 teams, including the Cleveland Guardians, a span of 18 seasons. In 2,405 career games, he hit .279 with 2,514 hits, 201 home runs, and 1,106 RBI. Buddy Bell was a 5-time All-Star, a 6-time Gold Glove, and a Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 10,176.

AVG (Batting Average):: Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):: Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):: Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):: On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated October 12, 2026

AVG .279

HR 201

RBI 1,106

H 2,514

OPS .747

PIV 10,176

Position: Third Baseman
Bats / Throws: R / R
Height / Weight: 6'1" / 180 lb
Born: 8/27/1951 in Pittsburgh, PA, USA
MLB Debut: 1972-04-15
Last Game: 1989-06-17
Awards: 5× All-Star · 6× Gold Glove · Silver Slugger

Full name: David Gus Bell

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Career Batting Statistics

Buddy Bell — Career Batting Statistics
G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS	PIV
2,405	8,995	1,151	2,514	425	56	201	1,106	55	836	776	.279	.341	.406	.747	10,176

Career AVG .279 vs. league average .258 across their career seasons — +8.2% above league average.

Career OBP .341 vs. league average .324 across their career seasons — +5.2% above league average.

Career SLG .406 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — +6.0% above league average.

Career OPS .747 vs. league average .707 across their career seasons — +5.6% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Buddy Bell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year	Team	Lg	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	BB	SO	AVG	Lg AVG	Lg OBP	Lg SLG	Lg OPS	PIV
1972	CLE	AL	132	466	49	119	21	1	9	36	5	34	29	.255	.243 (+5%)	.310 (avg)	.353 (+2%)	.664 (+1%)	72.8
1973	CLE	AL	156	631	86	169	23	7	14	59	7	49	47	.268	.256 (+4%)	.325 (avg)	.378 (+4%)	.703 (+2%)	196.4
1974	CLE	AL	116	423	51	111	15	1	7	46	1	35	29	.262	.256 (+2%)	.324 (-1%)	.369 (-5%)	.693 (-3%)	-162.2
1975	CLE	AL	153	553	66	150	20	4	10	59	6	51	72	.271	.257 (+5%)	.327 (+1%)	.374 (+1%)	.701 (+1%)	90.5
1976	CLE	AL	159	604	75	170	26	2	7	60	3	44	49	.281	.255 (+10%)	.320 (+3%)	.360 (+1%)	.681 (+2%)	212.0
1977	CLE	AL	129	479	64	140	23	4	11	64	1	45	63	.292	.264 (+11%)	.329 (+7%)	.401 (+6%)	.730 (+6%)	613.3
1978	CLE	AL	142	556	71	157	27	8	6	62	1	39	43	.282	.257 (+9%)	.323 (+1%)	.378 (+4%)	.702 (+3%)	200.4
1979	TEX	AL	162	670	89	200	42	3	18	101	5	30	45	.299	.265 (+12%)	.329 (-1%)	.397 (+13%)	.727 (+7%)	692.2
1980	TEX	AL	129	490	76	161	24	4	17	83	3	40	39	.329	.264 (+24%)	.326 (+16%)	.387 (+28%)	.714 (+23%)	2177.5
1981	TEX	AL	97	360	44	106	16	1	10	64	3	42	30	.294	.255 (+15%)	.320 (+14%)	.368 (+16%)	.688 (+15%)	1001.5
1982	TEX	AL	148	537	62	159	27	2	13	67	5	70	50	.296	.261 (+13%)	.324 (+16%)	.388 (+10%)	.712 (+13%)	1561.9
1983	TEX	AL	156	618	75	171	35	3	14	66	3	50	48	.277	.260 (+6%)	.324 (+2%)	.389 (+6%)	.714 (+4%)	454.5
1984	TEX	AL	148	553	88	174	36	5	11	83	2	63	54	.315	.259 (+21%)	.322 (+18%)	.384 (+19%)	.707 (+19%)	2127.0
1985	TEX	AL	84	313	33	74	13	3	4	32	3	33	21	.236	.257 (-8%)	.323 (-5%)	.390 (-14%)	.714 (-10%)	-488.5
1985	CIN	NL	67	247	28	54	15	2	6	36	0	34	27	.219	.257 (-15%)	.323 (-4%)	.390 (-6%)	.714 (-5%)	-488.5
1986	CIN	NL	155	568	89	158	29	3	20	75	2	73	49	.278	.257 (+8%)	.325 (+11%)	.395 (+13%)	.720 (+12%)	1506.5
1987	CIN	NL	143	522	74	148	19	2	17	70	4	71	39	.284	.262 (+8%)	.331 (+11%)	.415 (+2%)	.746 (+6%)	905.1
1988	CIN	NL	21	54	3	10	0	0	0	3	0	7	3	.185	.254 (-27%)	.317 (-15%)	.377 (-51%)	.695 (-35%)	-281.1
1988	HOU	NL	74	269	24	68	10	1	7	37	1	19	29	.253	.254 (-1%)	.317 (-5%)	.377 (-1%)	.695 (-3%)	-281.1
1989	TEX	AL	34	82	4	15	4	0	0	3	0	7	10	.183	.254 (-28%)	.319 (-23%)	.375 (-38%)	.694 (-31%)	-386.6
Career · 20 seasons			2,405	8,995	1,151	2,514	425	56	201	1,106	55	836	776	.279	—	—	—	—	9,724

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2405 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Buddy Bell — Batting — Home / Away
Split	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG
Home	1198	4402	591	1256	99	567	.285
Away	1207	4593	560	1258	102	539	.274

Last 10 Games — Batting

Buddy Bell — Last 10 Games — Batting
Date	Tm	Opp	Res	AB	R	H	2B	RBI	BB
1989-06-17	TEX	NYY	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1989-06-16	TEX	NYY	L	3	0	1	1	0	0
1989-06-16	TEX	NYY	L	1	0	0	0	1	0
1989-06-14	TEX	LAA	W	2	1	1	0	1	1
1989-06-12	TEX	LAA	W	4	0	1	0	0	0
1989-06-11	TEX	OAK	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1989-06-10	TEX	OAK	L	1	0	0	0	0	0
1989-06-09	TEX	OAK	W	1	0	0	0	1	1
1989-06-08	TEX	CHW	W	4	1	2	0	0	0
1989-06-07	TEX	CHW	L	4	0	2	1	0	0

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Buddy Bell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1B	12	10	63	4	2	4
2B	1	0	0	1	0	0
3B	2183	2161	1798	4925	254	430
OF	136	127	299	10	4	4
SS	41	17	36	69	2	10

Season-by-Season Fielding

Buddy Bell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year	Team	Pos	G	GS	PO	A	E	DP
1972	CLE	3B	6	5	10	13	0	2
1972	CLE	OF	123	115	274	10	3	4
1973	CLE	3B	154	153	144	363	22	44
1973	CLE	OF	2	1	2	0	0	0
1974	CLE	3B	115	115	112	274	15	31
1975	CLE	3B	153	149	146	330	25	29
1976	CLE	1B	2	1	5	1	0	0
1976	CLE	3B	158	157	104	330	20	23
1977	CLE	3B	118	115	111	253	15	23
1977	CLE	OF	11	11	23	0	1	0
1978	CLE	3B	139	139	125	355	15	30
1979	TEX	3B	147	144	112	364	15	22
1979	TEX	SS	33	17	35	65	2	9
1980	TEX	3B	120	120	123	282	8	26
1980	TEX	SS	3	0	0	0	0	0
1981	TEX	3B	96	96	66	281	14	18
1981	TEX	SS	1	0	1	3	0	1
1982	TEX	3B	145	143	131	396	13	35
1982	TEX	SS	4	0	0	1	0	0
1983	TEX	3B	154	153	123	383	17	29
1984	TEX	3B	147	147	129	323	20	28
1985	TEX	3B	83	82	70	192	16	22
1985	CIN	3B	67	67	54	105	9	13
1986	CIN	2B	1	0	0	1	0	0
1986	CIN	3B	151	150	105	290	10	28
1987	CIN	3B	142	141	93	241	7	17
1988	CIN	1B	2	2	8	2	1	0
1988	CIN	3B	13	13	6	24	1	2
1988	HOU	1B	7	6	43	0	1	4
1988	HOU	3B	66	65	31	114	12	8
1989	TEX	1B	1	1	7	1	0	0
1989	TEX	3B	9	7	3	12	0	0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Buddy Bell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position	Games
First Base	12
Second Base	1
Third Base	2183
Shortstop	41
Left Field	11
Center Field	64
Right Field	66
Designated Hitter	24

Awards & Honors

Buddy Bell — Awards & Honors
Year	Award	Notes
1988	Lou Gehrig Memorial Award
1986	Player of the Week	Week of 1986-08-15
1984	Gold Glove	3B
1984	Silver Slugger	3B
1984	TSN All-Star	3B
1983	Gold Glove	3B
1982	Gold Glove	3B
1981	Gold Glove	3B
1981	TSN All-Star	3B
1980	Gold Glove	3B
1980	Player of the Week	Week of 1980-06-27
1980	Player of the Week	Week of 1980-07-11
1979	Gold Glove	3B
1979	Player of the Week	Week of 1979-06-15
1977	Player of the Week	Week of 1977-05-21

Salary History

Buddy Bell — Salary History
Year	Team	League	Salary
1988	CIN	NL	$790,909
1987	CIN	NL	$870,000
1986	CIN	NL	$870,000
1985	CIN	NL	$751,297
Total Career Earnings			$3,282,206

Award Voting History

Buddy Bell — Award Voting History
Year	Award	League	Finish	Points Won	Points Max
1984	Most Valuable Player	AL	22th	4.0	392
1982	Most Valuable Player	AL	30th	3.0	392
1981	Most Valuable Player	AL	17th	7.0	392
1980	Most Valuable Player	AL	18th	7.0	392
1979	Most Valuable Player	AL	10th	48.0	392

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Buddy Bell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

Compare Buddy Bell

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Buddy Bell: the record in brief

Between the debut on April 15, 1972 and the final game on June 17, 1989, Buddy Bell built the record summarized on this page. The team column moves through the Cleveland Indians (1972 through 1978), the Texas Rangers (1979 through 1989), the Cincinnati Reds (1985 to 1988), and the Houston Astros (1988). Bell, a third baseman by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. Bell is listed at 180 pounds on a 6-foot-1 frame. The birth record reads August 27, 1951, in Pittsburgh, PA, USA. The bio lists the given name David Gus.

Across 2,405 games at the plate, Bell's career line reads 2,514 hits in 8,995 at bats for a .279 average, plus 201 homers, 1,106 runs batted in, and 55 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .341 clip and slugging .406, Bell finished with a .747 OPS. Measured against the leagues Bell played in, the .279 career average compares with a .258 league average over the same seasons, 8.2% above the league.

Frequently Asked Questions about Buddy Bell

What years did Buddy Bell play?: Buddy Bell played in Major League Baseball from 1972 to 1989.
Was Buddy Bell a pitcher?: No. Buddy Bell was a position player (Third Baseman).
How many home runs did Buddy Bell hit?: Buddy Bell hit 201 career home runs with 2514 hits.
What was Buddy Bell's career batting average?: Buddy Bell batted .279 over his career, with 2,514 hits in 8,995 at bats.
How many RBI did Buddy Bell have?: Buddy Bell drove in 1,106 runs in his career.
Is Buddy Bell in the Hall of Fame?: No. Buddy Bell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.