Former NTCC Player Makes Good

Former Northeast Texas Community College outfielder Bubba Bell is making sure this stint with the Pawtucket Red Sox of the International League goes better than his previous appearance with the Class AAA club of the International League.

 Bell, after an April 15 game against Buffalo, is hitting .364. In his last three games, Bell has collected four hits. The 2009 AAA season was a drastic change for Bell, who was the 2007 most valuable player and rookie of the year of the Class A California League. Bell appeared in 71 games with Pawtucket but struggled, hitting a career-low .208.

 “I think I’m a lot more comfortable now, I kind of know what to expect as far how guys are going to pitch you and what the league is like,” Bell said.  “Adjusting to this level is going a lot better than what it was last year when I came up halfway through the year. Now, it’s an even start with everybody. I feel good at the plate, putting good swings on the ball so that’s all I can really ask for right now.”

 Drafted in the 39^th round by Boston in 2005, Bell opened the April 15 game with a single to center field and later made a diving catch in short right-center in sixth inning. That catch, with two outs and a runner on third base, kept a scoreless outing intact for Diasuke Matsuzaka, who was making his second rehabilitation start with Pawtucket.

 “I got a really good jump on the ball and wanted to make sure, if I had an opportunity, to go after it,” Bell said. “The jump helped me a lot. I knew that Darnell (McDonald, Pawtucket’s center fielder) was going to be behind me, backing me up, so I took a shot at it. Fortunately, I was able to bring it in.”

 Bell enjoyed playing right field with Matsuzaka on the mound.

 “It’s a lot of fun. He’s kind of known for working slow but he knows how to pitch and he knows how to control the tempo of the game,” Bell said.” It’s fun and I look at it as, hopefully, practice for the future.”

 Despite playing in AAA, Bell has stayed in touch with the Eagles’ success this season with various contacts with head coach Chris Smith.

 “I stay in pretty good touch with ‘Smitty’.” Bell said. “I try to get there at least once or twice in the off-season, either when I going home (Paris) or heading to spring training. I try to stop by as much as I can and we text or talk on the phone as much as we can during the season.

 “I think it’s awesome,” Bell replied about the Eagles moving up to 17^th in the April 13 national poll. “Smitty’s done a really good job getting recruits in there and getting a lot of really talented guys to come in. He’s a really good guy to play for. He likes to play the game hard, which is how it should be played. He does a really good job with his guys as far as preparing them to play and making sure they know how to play the right way. I think it’s great what they’re doing and I want go give them a big congratulations for how the season is going.”

 Bell credits Smith and NTCC for allowing him to pursue his dream of playing professional baseball.

 “I got an opportunity to play every day there. Smitty made it pretty clear my second year there that I needed to make sure I kept going and get an opportunity where I was going to play every day,” he said. “Even though (Nicholls State) is a mid-major Division I school, I got the opportunity to play every day.

 “I was able to get a rhythm and stay consistent with what I was doing,” Bell continued. “I think that gave me an edge, getting to each level (in the minors) and knowing what it’s like playing every day. Here it’s a little different scale as far the number of games and playing every single day, but it was good preparation.”

 And now Bell is just one step away from making the major leagues.