Gus Bell

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1950-1964)

Gus Bell was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1964 for 4 teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates, a span of 15 seasons. In 1,741 career games, he hit .281 with 1,823 hits, 206 home runs, and 942 RBI. Gus Bell was a 4-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 8,352.

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

AVG .281
HR 206
RBI 942
H 1,823
OPS .775
PIV 8,352
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 190 lb
Born
11/15/1928 in Louisville, KY, USA
Died
5/7/1995 in Montgomery, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1950-05-30
Last Game
1964-05-01
Awards
4× All-Star

Full name: David Russell Bell

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Career Batting Statistics

Gus Bell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,741 6,478 865 1,823 311 66 206 942 30 470 636 .281 .330 .445 .775 8,352

Career AVG .281 vs. league average .257 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.

Career OBP .330 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .445 vs. league average .389 across their career seasons — +14.4% above league average.

Career OPS .775 vs. league average .716 across their career seasons — +8.3% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Gus 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
1950 PIT NL 111 422 62 119 22 11 8 53 4 28 46 .282 .265 (+6%) .346 (-4%) .401 (+10%) .747 (+4%) 134.1
1951 PIT NL 149 600 80 167 27 12 16 89 1 42 41 .278 .260 (+7%) .336 (-2%) .385 (+15%) .721 (+7%) 627.8
1952 PIT NL 131 468 53 117 21 5 16 59 1 36 72 .250 .252 (-1%) .326 (-6%) .369 (+13%) .696 (+4%) 202.6
1953 CIN NL 151 610 102 183 37 5 30 105 0 48 72 .300 .264 (+14%) .335 (+5%) .397 (+32%) .733 (+20%) 2308.2
1954 CIN NL 153 619 104 185 38 7 17 101 5 48 58 .299 .261 (+15%) .333 (+5%) .390 (+19%) .723 (+13%) 1420.5
1955 CIN NL 154 610 88 188 30 6 27 104 4 54 57 .308 .258 (+19%) .332 (+9%) .393 (+29%) .726 (+20%) 2355.2
1956 CIN NL 150 603 82 176 31 4 29 84 6 50 66 .292 .258 (+13%) .331 (+5%) .397 (+26%) .728 (+16%) 1903.0
1957 CIN NL 121 510 65 149 20 3 13 61 0 30 54 .292 .257 (+13%) .323 (+2%) .391 (+7%) .715 (+5%) 410.1
1958 CIN NL 112 385 42 97 16 2 10 46 2 36 40 .252 .257 (-2%) .324 (-3%) .394 (-3%) .719 (-3%) -228.4
1959 CIN NL 148 580 59 170 27 2 19 115 2 29 44 .293 .256 (+14%) .323 (avg) .392 (+13%) .715 (+7%) 676.0
1960 CIN NL 143 515 65 135 19 5 12 62 4 29 40 .262 .255 (+3%) .323 (-7%) .387 (avg) .711 (-3%) -383.9
1961 CIN NL 103 235 27 60 10 1 3 33 1 18 21 .255 .258 (-1%) .328 (-9%) .399 (-14%) .727 (-12%) -521.9
1962 NYN NL 30 101 8 15 2 0 1 6 0 10 7 .149 .257 (-42%) .326 (-32%) .393 (-50%) .719 (-42%) -682.8
1962 ML1 NL 79 214 28 61 11 3 5 24 0 12 17 .285 .257 (+11%) .326 (-1%) .393 (+10%) .719 (+5%) -682.8
1963 ML1 NL 3 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1964 ML1 NL 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 16 seasons 1,741 6,478 865 1,823 311 66 206 942 30 470 636 .281 — — — — 7,538

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Gus Bell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Playoff Batting by Year

Gus Bell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1961 WS CIN 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1741 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Gus Bell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home8743200455954117514.298
Away867327741086989429.265

Last 10 Games — Batting

Gus Bell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1964-05-01 ATLPHIL 100000001
1964-04-26 ATLLADL 100000000
1964-04-14 ATLSFGL 100000000
1963-04-15 ATLNYNW 100000000
1963-04-10 ATLPITL 101000000
1963-04-09 ATLPITL 100000000
1962-09-23 ATLPITW 200000000
1962-09-16 ATLHOUW 211001100
1962-09-15 ATLHOUW 100000001
1962-09-14 ATLHOUW 301000001

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Gus Bell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 1642 1066 3500 133 54 28

Season-by-Season Fielding

Gus Bell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1950 PIT OF 104 0 203 10 5 3
1951 PIT OF 145 0 267 18 4 4
1952 PIT OF 123 0 202 8 6 2
1953 CIN OF 151 0 447 16 11 5
1954 CIN OF 153 152 406 12 6 2
1955 CIN OF 154 154 364 4 5 0
1956 CIN OF 149 149 330 12 5 4
1957 CIN OF 121 120 311 7 4 1
1958 CIN OF 107 101 235 7 1 2
1959 CIN OF 145 137 269 15 1 1
1960 CIN OF 131 122 239 13 3 1
1961 CIN OF 75 54 112 1 1 0
1962 NYN OF 26 24 40 7 1 3
1962 ML1 OF 58 53 75 3 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Gus Bell Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Left Field 161
Center Field 815
Right Field 684

Award Voting History

Gus Bell — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1953 Most Valuable Player NL 20th 3.0 336 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

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

  1. 98
    Andy Pafko
    .285 avg, 213 HR
  2. 97
    Felipe Alou
    .286 avg, 206 HR
  3. 96
    Ben Oglivie
    .273 avg, 235 HR
  4. 96
    Bobby Thomson
    .270 avg, 264 HR
  5. 89
    George Bell
    .278 avg, 265 HR
  6. 89
    Brian Jordan
    .282 avg, 184 HR

Compare Gus Bell

Side-by-side career stat comparisons against Bell's closest peers by position and era.

vs Buddy Bell

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Gus Bell: the record in brief

The profile opens with Gus Bell's first major league game on May 30, 1950; the last one listed came on May 1, 1964. Club by club, the record runs the Pittsburgh Pirates (1950 to 1952), the Cincinnati Reds (1953 to 1961), the Cincinnati Redlegs (1954 through 1959), the New York Mets (1962), and the Milwaukee Braves (1962 through 1964). The bio lists Bell as an outfielder who hit left-handed while throwing right-handed. Bell is listed at 6 feet, 1 inch and 190 pounds. The birth record reads November 15, 1928, in Louisville, KY, USA. Bell's death is recorded on May 7, 1995, in Montgomery, OH, USA. Bell's full given name, per the bio, is David Russell Bell.

Bell collected 1,823 hits in 6,478 at bats across 1,741 games, good for a .281 batting average, adding 206 home runs, 942 RBI, and 30 stolen bases. Bell got on base at a .330 rate and slugged .445 (.775 OPS).

Frequently Asked Questions about Gus Bell

What years did Gus Bell play?
Gus Bell played in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1964.
Was Gus Bell a pitcher?
No. Gus Bell was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Gus Bell hit?
Gus Bell hit 206 career home runs with 1823 hits.
What was Gus Bell's career batting average?
Gus Bell batted .281 over his career, with 1,823 hits in 6,478 at bats.
How many RBI did Gus Bell have?
Gus Bell drove in 942 runs in his career.
Is Gus Bell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Gus Bell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.