Herman Bell

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Herman Bell was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball for the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords and the Birmingham Black Barons. In 63 career games, he hit .186 with 30 hits and 10 RBI. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020.

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 .186
HR 0
RBI 10
H 30
OPS .502
PIV -55
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 177 lb
Born
4/18/1915 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Died
9/27/1970 in Birmingham, AL, USA
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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Herman Bell — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
282.0 236.0 39.0 54.0 5.0 2.0 0 22.0 35.0 2.0 3.0 .229 .333 .267 .600

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Herman Bell — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1949 80.0 68.0 9.0 12.0 0 0 0 6.0 10.0 0 1.0 .176 .282 .176 .458
Listed seasons · 1 80 68 9 12 0 0 0 6 10 0 1 .176 — — —

Career Batting Statistics

Herman Bell — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
63 161 25 30 3 1 0 10 2 19 1 .186 .284 .217 .502 -55

Career AVG .186 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — 28.7% below league average.

Career OBP .284 vs. league average .332 across their career seasons — 14.5% below league average.

Career SLG .217 vs. league average .367 across their career seasons — 40.8% below league average.

Career OPS .502 vs. league average .700 across their career seasons — 28.3% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Herman Bell — Season-by-Season Batting
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1940 TIC NAL 13 32 4 4 0 0 0 0 1 8 1 .125 — — — — 0.0
1943 BBB NAL 11 30 3 4 0 0 0 1 0 3 0 .133 — — — — 0.0
1945 BBB NAL 13 28 4 5 1 1 0 3 0 3 0 .179 — — — — 0.0
1946 BBB NAL 1 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1947 BBB NAL 5 10 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .100 — — — — 0.0
1948 BBB NAL 20 57 13 16 2 0 0 6 1 5 0 .281 .263 (+6%) .340 (+3%) .379 (-17%) .719 (-8%) -54.5
Career · 6 seasons 63 161 25 30 3 1 0 10 2 19 1 .186 — — — — -55

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

Herman Bell — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
3 5 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 .400

Playoff Batting by Year

Herman Bell — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1948 NWS BBB 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1.000
1943 ALC BBB 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (187 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Herman Bell — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home87931924012.258
Away9982131806.220

Pitching — Home / Away

Herman Bell — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Away10.00000—

Last 10 Games — Batting

Herman Bell — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-08-29 BIRIN9L 000000000
1949-08-24 BIRKCMW 000000000
1949-08-21 BIRKCML 000000000
1949-08-07 BIRBLGL 201000020
1949-08-07 BIRBLGL 000000000
1949-07-31 BIRBLGL 000000000
1949-07-30 BIRBLGL 000000000
1949-07-29 BIRMEMW 000000000
1949-07-27 BIRMEMW 100000000
1949-07-24 BIRMEML 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Herman Bell — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
C 55 52 285 31 7 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Herman Bell — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1940 TIC C 13 13 75 6 2 0
1943 BBB C 11 10 57 7 2 1
1945 BBB C 9 8 41 8 2 0
1946 BBB C 1 1 3 0 0 0
1947 BBB C 5 4 13 5 0 0
1948 BBB C 16 16 96 5 1 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Herman Bell — Career Games by Position
Position Games
Catcher 55

Herman Bell: the record in brief

The season rows for Herman Bell begin in 1940. Club by club, the record runs the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords (1940) and the Birmingham Black Barons (1943 to 1948). Bell, a catcher by primary position, threw and hit right-handed. Bell is listed at 5 feet, 11 inches and 177 pounds. The birth record reads April 18, 1915, in Birmingham, AL, USA. The bio records the death on September 27, 1970, in Birmingham, AL, USA.

Bell's career batting table shows 63 games, 161 at bats and 30 hits, a .186 average, along with 10 runs batted in. Bell's career OPS of .502 combines a .284 on-base mark with .217 slugging. Measured against the leagues Bell played in, the .186 career average compares with a .261 league average over the same seasons, 28.7% below the league. By OPS the gap is 28.3% below league average (.502 against .700). Bell collected a career-high 16 hits in 1948. The Lg AVG column puts Bell's 1948 at .281 against .263, the widest margin among the busiest seasons at 6%.

Frequently Asked Questions about Herman Bell

Was Herman Bell a pitcher?
No. Herman Bell was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Herman Bell hit?
Herman Bell hit 0 career home runs with 30 hits.
What was Herman Bell's career batting average?
Herman Bell batted .186 over his career, with 30 hits in 161 at bats.
How many RBI did Herman Bell have?
Herman Bell drove in 10 runs in his career.
Is Herman Bell in the Hall of Fame?
No. Herman Bell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
What teams did Herman Bell play for?
Herman Bell played for the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords and the Birmingham Black Barons.