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· collected 2026-09-06 · by Rosie DiManno
The article profiles George Bell, a former Toronto Blue Jays player, who was known for his passionate and belligerent personality on and off the field. According to the text, Bell holds the MLB record for most home runs on opening day with three, achieved in 1987. The article also highlights Bell's individualist nature and how he was unapologetic about his behavior, including once calling a reporter an expletive in the Jays clubhouse. Today, at 66 years old, Bell has retired from baseball and lives a relatively quiet life in the Dominican Republic.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-06,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Red Sox pitcher Bruce Kison hits George Bell in the left shoulder with a fastball.
asserted
Kison → hit → fastball
Bell charges the mound with a flying karate directly at Kison, then throws a couple of punches at catcher Rich Gedman, sparking a bench-clearing brawl that took nine minutes to pacify.
asserted
that → charge → minutes
Infuriated that manager Jimy Williams has turned him into a permanent designated hitter — “I was pissed,” reasonably so for someone who’d been named league MVP the previous season — Bell grumps and grouses and insubordinates his way through spring training.
asserted
Bell → infuriate → training
Bell settles under a fly ball for the final out at Exhibition Stadium (dropping to his knees, leaning back and pumping his arms in delight) clinching a first-ever American League East title for the Toronto Blue Jays.
asserted
Bell → settle → Jays
Replay the highlight reel from 1983 to 1990 and Bell — passionate, belligerent, proud — is square in the frame.
asserted
Bell → replay → frame
Toronto has never had another Jay quite like Bell, not before and not since.
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Toronto → have → Bell
He held back nothing.
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He → hold → nothing
And I say that as a reporter he once called an effing c—- in the Jays clubhouse.
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he → say → clubhouse
A few nights later, after a road game, we found ourselves in the same saloon.
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we → find → saloon
Bell sent me over a drink.
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Bell → send → drink
His way of apologizing, I guess.
asserted
I → apologize → way
And he rarely said “sorry” about anything.
asserted
he → say → anything
“I was a superstar,” Bell declared last weekend as the club unveiled its new Hall of Excellence spectacle featuring customized locker cubicles with bits of memorabilia for each saluted player.
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club → declare → player
“I have to give credit to the Blue Jays for bringing me here.
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I → have → me
They invested a lot of money in me, and I think they got it back.”
asserted
they → invest → it
For a decade the Jays reaped the best of Bell, but that was decades ago.
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that → reap → Bell
These days, Bell is a well-preserved 66-year-old who spends most of his time in his native Dominican Republic — among the earliest recruits of a remarkable Dominican delegation brought to Toronto, from Tony Fernández to Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
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who → preserve → Jr.
(Technically, Bell was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies as an amateur free agent at age 18 before joining the Jays as a Rule 5 draft pick.)
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Bell → sign → pick
He’s recognizable still — the curling lip, the smirky smile — and doubtless adored on the island, but isn’t hounded much by fans anymore: “Not really.
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He → ’ → fans
My time went passed.
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time → go → ?
I live as an ordinary citizen now.”
asserted
I → live → citizen
Well, that’s rather hard to swallow.
asserted
that → ’ → ?
Bell was always an individualist, a star of colourful character and outsized personality emerging from the hardscrabble baseball lots in San Pedro de Macorís to take his place in the pantheon of Blue Jays legends.
asserted
Bell → emerge → legends
He departed Toronto as a free agent, signing a lucrative three-year deal with the Chicago Cubs, where he enjoyed successful seasons but nothing that compared with his time here, where in 1987 he became the first player in franchise history to be awarded MVP laurels.
asserted
he → depart → laurels
“I didn’t have a chance to go to the World Series with the Blue Jays; I missed that.
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I → have → that
I did all I could and we came close.
uncertain
we → do → all
We went three times to the playoffs and didn’t make it.”
Most devastating for those late-1980s team was a stunning collapse: losing seven straight games down the final week of the ’87 season, including a sweep by the Tigers, and missing the post-season.
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collapse → go → season
Detroit claimed the East crown with 98 wins to Toronto’s 96.
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Detroit → claim → 96
Fernandez’s broken elbow had a lot to do with that, but Bell went 1-for-11 in that final weekend at Tiger Stadium.
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Bell → break → Stadium
The pain has worn off with the passage of time, and Bell did make another (losing) trip to the playoffs with Toronto in 1989.
asserted
Bell → wear → 1989
But he was gone by the time the Jays got over the hump with World Series championships in ’92 and ’93.
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Jays → go → 93
Bell, part of a famed outfield with Jesse Barfield and Lloyd Moseby, doesn’t deny his irascible nature back in the day and claims a righteous reason for his short fuse and explosive temperament.
uncertain
Bell → deny → fuse
“You know, I’m not from the United States and I’m not from Canada, I’m Dominican.
asserted
I → know → Canada
Neither the Blue Jays or George Bell had the recognition we deserved.
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we → have → recognition
I got angry about it and I said so.
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I → get → it
We never got the recognition in the States as a legitimate baseball team.
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We → get → team
“Then we went out and proved it.”
asserted
we → go → it
