Les Bell
Third Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1923-1931)
Les Bell was a third baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1931 for the St. Louis Cardinals, the Boston Braves, and the Chicago Cubs, a span of 9 seasons. In 896 career games, he hit .290 with 938 hits, 66 home runs, and 509 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 2,757.
- 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
- Position
- Third Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 165 lb
- Died
- 12/26/1985 in Hershey, PA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1923-09-17
- Last Game
- 1931-09-27
Full name: Lester Rowland Bell
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 896 | 3,239 | 404 | 938 | 184 | 49 | 66 | 509 | 25 | 276 | 322 | .290 | .346 | .438 | .784 | 2,757 |
Career AVG .290 vs. league average .284 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OBP .346 vs. league average .347 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .438 vs. league average .400 across their career seasons — +9.5% above league average.
Career OPS .784 vs. league average .746 across their career seasons — near league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | SLN | NL | 15 | 51 | 5 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 7 | .373 | .282 (+32%) | .344 (+35%) | .390 (+16%) | .734 (+25%) | 254.3 |
| 1924 | SLN | NL | 17 | 57 | 5 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 7 | .246 | .283 (-13%) | .345 (-15%) | .389 (+8%) | .734 (-3%) | -48.4 |
| 1925 | SLN | NL | 153 | 586 | 80 | 167 | 29 | 9 | 11 | 88 | 4 | 43 | 47 | .285 | .288 (-1%) | .349 (-5%) | .407 (+4%) | .756 (avg) | -108.5 |
| 1926 | SLN | NL | 155 | 581 | 85 | 189 | 33 | 14 | 17 | 100 | 9 | 54 | 62 | .325 | .279 (+16%) | .345 (+11%) | .390 (+33%) | .735 (+22%) | 2582.0 |
| 1927 | SLN | NL | 115 | 390 | 48 | 101 | 26 | 6 | 9 | 65 | 5 | 34 | 63 | .259 | .282 (-8%) | .344 (-7%) | .392 (+8%) | .736 (+1%) | -17.6 |
| 1928 | BSN | NL | 153 | 591 | 58 | 164 | 36 | 7 | 10 | 91 | 1 | 40 | 45 | .277 | .280 (-1%) | .342 (-6%) | .395 (+4%) | .737 (avg) | -136.7 |
| 1929 | BSN | NL | 139 | 483 | 58 | 144 | 23 | 5 | 9 | 72 | 4 | 50 | 42 | .298 | .289 (+3%) | .353 (+3%) | .415 (+2%) | .769 (+2%) | 270.9 |
| 1930 | CHN | NL | 74 | 248 | 35 | 69 | 15 | 4 | 5 | 47 | 1 | 24 | 27 | .278 | .293 (-5%) | .354 (-4%) | .429 (avg) | .784 (-1%) | -78.0 |
| 1931 | CHN | NL | 75 | 252 | 30 | 71 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 0 | 19 | 22 | .282 | .276 (+2%) | .338 (-2%) | .388 (+4%) | .726 (+1%) | 38.6 |
| Career · 9 seasons | 896 | 3,239 | 404 | 938 | 184 | 49 | 66 | 509 | 25 | 276 | 322 | .290 | — | — | — | — | 2,757 | ||
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 (896 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 462 | 1662 | 224 | 510 | 40 | 292 | .307 |
| Away | 434 | 1577 | 181 | 428 | 26 | 223 | .271 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931-09-27 | CHC | PIT | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 1931-09-27 | CHC | PIT | W | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931-09-21 | CHC | NY1 | L | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931-09-20 | CHC | NY1 | W | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931-09-20 | CHC | NY1 | W | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1931-09-19 | CHC | BRO | W | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1931-09-18 | CHC | BRO | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1931-09-17 | CHC | BRO | W | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931-09-16 | CHC | BSN | W | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1931-09-16 | CHC | BSN | W | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 2 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 3B | 828 | 0 | 814 | 1412 | 144 | 161 |
| SS | 44 | 0 | 99 | 138 | 25 | 25 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | SLN | SS | 15 | 0 | 35 | 53 | 8 | 9 |
| 1924 | SLN | SS | 17 | 0 | 44 | 42 | 9 | 8 |
| 1925 | SLN | 3B | 153 | 0 | 151 | 284 | 36 | 39 |
| 1925 | SLN | SS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1926 | SLN | 3B | 155 | 0 | 165 | 254 | 22 | 25 |
| 1927 | SLN | 3B | 100 | 0 | 85 | 142 | 24 | 13 |
| 1927 | SLN | SS | 10 | 0 | 16 | 41 | 6 | 8 |
| 1928 | BSN | 3B | 153 | 0 | 177 | 314 | 27 | 37 |
| 1929 | BSN | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1929 | BSN | 3B | 127 | 0 | 107 | 198 | 15 | 15 |
| 1929 | BSN | SS | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1930 | CHN | 1B | 2 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1930 | CHN | 3B | 70 | 0 | 63 | 102 | 9 | 14 |
| 1931 | CHN | 3B | 70 | 0 | 66 | 118 | 11 | 18 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 2 |
| Second Base | 1 |
| Third Base | 828 |
| Shortstop | 45 |
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1926 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 6th | 24.0 | 80 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Les Bell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Les Bell: the record in brief
September 17, 1923 and September 27, 1931 bracket Les Bell's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. Club by club, the record runs the St. Louis Cardinals (1923 through 1927), the Boston Braves (1928 to 1929), and the Chicago Cubs (1930 to 1931). Bell, born on December 14, 1901, in Harrisburg, PA, USA, is listed as a third baseman and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 5'11" and 165 pounds. Bell died on December 26, 1985, in Hershey, PA, USA. Les Bell was the playing name; the full given name is Lester Rowland.
The batting record for Bell: 896 games, 938 hits in 3,239 at bats, and a .290 average, adding 66 homers, 509 RBI, and 25 stolen bases. Reaching base at a .346 clip and slugging .438, Bell finished with a .784 OPS. Against a .284 league average for those years, Bell's .290 average was near the norm. The home run peak was 17 in 1926 with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Frequently Asked Questions about Les Bell
- What years did Les Bell play?
- Les Bell played in Major League Baseball from 1923 to 1931.
- Was Les Bell a pitcher?
- No. Les Bell was a position player (Third Baseman).
- How many home runs did Les Bell hit?
- Les Bell hit 66 career home runs with 938 hits.
- What was Les Bell's career batting average?
- Les Bell batted .290 over his career, with 938 hits in 3,239 at bats.
- How many RBI did Les Bell have?
- Les Bell drove in 509 runs in his career.
- Is Les Bell in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Les Bell has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.