APPALACHIAN LEAGUE NOTEBOOK: Buddy Bell Makes Stop In Bristol

BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
BRISTOL, Va. — Buddy Bell jotted down notes and talked to a colleague as he watched the Bristol White Sox earn a 6-5 Appalachian League victory over the Bluefield Orioles on Friday night.

Bell didn’t draw attention to himself, attract autograph seekers or stand out in the crowd.

By his quiet and reserved demeanor, it would be hard to believe that Bell was an 18-year Major League veteran, five-time All-Star and respected fielder at third base.

Bell has been at Bristol’s DeVault Stadium the last few days, fulfilling his duties as the director of player development for the Chicago White Sox.
“I was here [in Bristol] a long time ago in 1990,” Bell said. “I was doing some part-time stuff for the Indians right after I retired from playing and our Indian club was in Burlington at the time … It’s been awhile. It’s changed a lot and they’ve done a good job. [Bristol] is a really nice place and we’re happy with our affiliation here.”

Bell hammered out more than 2,500 hits during a career that was highlighted by memorable seasons in Cleveland and Texas.

After his playing days were over, he had managerial stints with the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals.

Bell managed Bristol native Jimmy Gobble for 2 ½ seasons when he was with the Royals. He had kind words to say about the left-handed pitcher, including citing his determination.

“Great kid,” Bell said. “He was one of my favorite kids. I loved being in Kansas City and one of the main reasons was because of kids like Jimmy Gobble. He really made a lot of progress. He has good stuff and he just tries so damn hard.”

Garrett Gets It Done
Chalk up another strong outing for Bristol White Sox pitcher Garrett Johnson.

The 6-foot-10 left-hander struck out seven over five shutout innings on Friday night against Bluefield. While he had to settle for a no-decision, he lowered his ERA to 0.73 and continued to overpower the opposition.

Johnson was 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA in 15 relief appearances last season for Bristol. Obviously, he’s become a different pitcher over the last 12 months.

“I’ve just been practicing on what they were teaching me in spring training,” Johnson said. “Just keeping the ball down and getting ahead in counts. As long as you keep as many runners off base as you can, you’re team is going to get you runs and you’ll be able to pull through it.”

Few baserunners have reached against Johnson, who has allowed just 10 hits and two walks in 12 1/3 innings of work. He also has 19 strikeouts.

Johnson has also flourished since moving from the bullpen to the rotation.

“I like [starting] a lot,” Johnson said. “I think it’s a lot better for me. I like to go a lot more innings and I want to go 5-6 innings every time, if I can.”

Johnson’s family also made the trip from their Georgia home Friday to watch him pitch. So far, so good.

“As long as I’m throwing good, I’m all right with them being here,” Johnson said with a smile.

Gilbert’s Homer

Kenneth Gilbert had his best game of the season for Bristol on Friday. He went 3-for-4 and blasted a monstrous two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“That was a bomb,” Bristol manager Bobby Thigpen said.

Gilbert had been just 1-for-11 this season with Bristol, before Friday’s breakout performance.

“He’s made some great improvement and strides from last year,” Thigpen said. “He’s working with [Bristol hitting coach Jerry Hairston Sr.] and starting to click a little bit and finding the stroke he had early in spring training.”

Pressure Packed
Bristol pitcher Justin Kuehn had a dramatic professional debut.

He entered in relief of Johnson in the top of the sixth inning with no outs and the bases loaded. The former Santa Clara University star then got Bluefield’s Lance West to hit a short flyball and then induced Ronnie Welty to ground into an inning-ending double play.

In 2 2/3 innings, Kuehn allowed two runs on no hits, walked two and struck out two. Winning pitcher Brent DeFoor relieved Kuehn in the eighth and allowed two runs that were charged to Kuehn.

Appy League History
The following events occurred this week in Appalachian League history:
June 29, 1970 — The Bristol Tigers committed four errors and managed just four hits in a 7-1 loss to the Kingsport Royals. Dave Allen was the winning pitcher for Kingsport, striking out 10 in seven dominant innings. Dave Horton suffered the loss for Bristol, despite allowing just two earned runs in seven innings.
June 25, 1973 — Greg Shippy and Tommy Butler both hit home runs as the Bristol Tigers rallied for a 10-7 road win over the Marion Mets. Bristol used a four-run ninth inning to take control. John Williams drove in two runs for Marion.
June 28, 1983 — Rob Baker hit a two-run home run, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Bristol Tigers suffered a 16-4 setback to the Johnson City Cardinals. Johnson City starter Brad Blunt worked eight effective innings to get the win. Reliever Brad Wheeler was the only Bristol pitcher that performed well, allowing two hits in 3 1/3 shutout innings.
June 28, 1988 — The Bristol Tigers dropped a 3-1 decision to the Burlington Indians. Bristol’s lone run came in the ninth inning as Rudy Pemberton scored on a RBI single by Mike Davidson. Burlington had played a 27-inning game with Bluefield the night before.
June 26, 1996 — Bryan Hardy hit two home runs and tallied six RBIs for the Burlington Indians in their 12-4 win over the Bristol White Sox. Rashad Albert homered and Doug Bearden had two hits for Bristol.
thayes@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2570