If one were asked to describe the Cincinnati Reds’ spring training camp atmosphere in Tempe, Ariz., the word “circus” could apply — sort of.
That’s because Trevor Bell — a 27-year-old reliever trying to make the team — has clown in his blood, as he is the grandson of Bob Bell, who played Bozo the Clown on WGN in Chicago from 1960 to 1984.
“He did it for 25 years straight — if I could play baseball for 25 years, that’d be incredible,” Bell told the Cincinnati Enquirer about his grandfather’s routine. “It’d take him three-and-a-half hours to put his makeup on every day. He’d be up at 3:30 in the morning putting on his makeup and he did it for the kids, and that’s all he did it for. He did it to lighten kids’ days, it was something that was totally selfless. It’s a lost thing nowadays in the arts. It’s still lost in the arts. As far as acting, baseball, it’s keeping those things alive.”
Bell has a tattoo of his grandfather on his left arm, along with a pair of clown shoes with the words, “These shoes will never be filled.”
“He was just the type of person who could walk into a room and brighten everyone’s day no matter what,” he said. “Even without the makeup, he’d put it on and it’d be even more. It wasn’t a fake thing, he just loved to do that.”
Bell was a first-round draft pick of the Angels in 2005, and appeared in 52 games (11 starts) for the club from 2009 to 2011, posting a 4-8 record with a 5.21 ERA. After he got off to a rough start in Triple-A in 2012, the Angels released him and he didn’t catch on with another team for the rest of the season.
Last June, the Reds signed Bell and assigned him to the team’s Double-A affiliate in Pensacola, Fla.
“From Day 1, it just seemed like the good idea with this organization,” Bell said. “The way they came after me, the way they communicated with me. They didn’t lie to me. They didn’t say, ‘We’re going to send you to Double-A and you’ll be in Triple-A in a week.’ They said, ‘Go there, we want you to help the team out, younger guys, show them how to be in the clubhouse, how to be outside the field.’ I took that responsibility with open arms because I knew that’s what they wanted me to do.”
Bell had a renaissance season in the minor leagues, posting a 1.72 ERA with 17 saves in 27 games, striking out 37 batters in 31¹/₃ innings. He has carried that success over to spring training, striking out six batters in 3²/₃ innings.
Bell is expected to start the season in the minor leagues.