Thursday, October 24, 2002
Bell, Snow, Spiezio share family ties
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — This World Series is for the sons. Having a father who played in the major leagues or the NFL seems to be a requirement to become a World Series hero this October.
David Bell became the latest kid to come through, getting the go-ahead single in the eighth inning that sent San Francisco to a 4-3 victory Wednesday night over the Anaheim Angels, tying the World Series at two games apiece.
They all have one thing in common. The fathers of Bell, teammate J.T. Snow and Anaheim's Scott Spiezio all never got much of a chance to compete on the ultimate stage of their sports.
“That's about the only thing we don't talk about,” David Bell said.
What an appropriate place to be a star, the very stadium that shares the family name: Pac BELL Park. And the family did pack Bell park. You couldn't walk very far Wednesday night without bumping into a Bell.
“Well, there's about ...” David said, taking a second to think.
“I guess there's eight,” he said, “May dad, two brothers, one of their wives and sons, and my sister and my mom and dad.”
Among all the faces new to the World Series, these ballpark brats have stood out the most.
Looking for stars of the future?
Maybe the place to focus on is the Giants' bat boys: The sons of Dusty Baker, Barry Bonds, Jeff Kent and Shawon Dunston scamper across the field at Pacific Bell Park as if it's their own playground. In 20 years, some of them no doubt will be the heroes.
“My dad was good about letting me and my brothers go to the park with him,” David Bell once said. “I'm sure we got in the way, but he knew it was important to us, and we learned a lot just from being around.”
The Bells, of course, are their own miniature farm system. David's brothers, Mike and Rick, are in the minor leagues. Their dad was a five-time All-Star over a major league career with Cleveland, Texas and Cincinnati that spanned from 1972 to 1989, then spent parts of three years as manager of Detroit and three more as manager of Colorado Rockies until he was fired in April. Grandpa Gus was a four time-All Star during 15 major league seasons with the Reds, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee.
Gus Bell made it to the World Series with Cincinnati in 1961.
While the fathers have gotten to see their sons become stars, Bell once said he really regretted that his grandfather, who died in 1995, didn't live long enough to watch him play.
“I spent a lot of time with him. We were very close,” David said. “I owe a lot to him. When my dad didn't have time, he took the place. I wanted to do this for myself, but I also wanted to make them proud. That third generation thing, it's kind of neat.”
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Bell, Snow, Spiezio share family ties
