45. Jay Bell

When Jay Bell played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he knew his role was; provide good defense and get his baserunners over.  He did his job well!

Bell was the player to be named later in the pre-1989 season transaction with Cleveland, and after appearing in 70 Games that year, he entered 1990 as Pittsburgh's starting Shortstop.  What Bell lacked in pure athleticism, he made up for in intelligence.  Bell always seemed to know where the batters would hit ground balls, and as a Pirate, he was in the top six in Defensive bWAR three times, while also leading all National League Shortstops in Assists four times and Putouts three times.

Bell was not a power hitter, but he was selfless.  A two-time leader in Sacrifice Hits, Bell was able to get Hits still, primarily shown in 1993, when stars like Barry Bonds and Barry Bonilla had already left.  Bell batted .310 that year, had a career-high 187 Hits, and went to his first All-Star Game.  He also won the Silver Slugger that year.

Bell’s time with the Pirates ended when Kansas City traded for him after the 1996 Season.  He had 1,124 Hits with a .269 Batting Average for the team.