CLEVELAND – Josh Bell got his first true taste of what it means to be a star this week.
He started as the National League’s designated hitter on Tuesday night in its 4-3 loss to the American League in the All-Star Game at Progressive Field. That came a night after he participated in the Home Run Derby, bowing out in the first round to Braves center-fielder Ronald Acuna Jr.
From an impartial observer’s standpoint, it was interesting to see how much media attention Bell received during the two days of festivities. Seemingly everyone wanted to talk to the Pirates’ switch-hitting first baseman about his breakout season that includes a major-league-leading 84 RBIs.
Part of the attention came because of Cleveland’s proximity to Pittsburgh. Much more Pittsburgh-area media than normal covered this All-Star Game. Yet the national media also swarmed around Bell. It had to be a bit of a shock to the system for someone who plays in a smaller market and isn’t used to having dozens of reporters hanging around the clubhouse daily.
Bell admitted that it was all a little bit overwhelming:
Bell, though, wins high marks for handling the attention with aplomb. He made time for everybody, was his usual polite self and gave thoughtful answers to the multitude of questions.
It was an impressive performance by a player who admittedly doesn’t like to draw attention to himself. However, when you are on pace to drive in 153 runs, it’s hard not to go unnoticed.
• It was a bummer for Felipe Vazquez that he did not get to pitch Tuesday night, though he shrugged it off with his always-positive attitude.
However, it was a function of Major League Baseball mandating in 2003 that each league’s roster must include 12 pitchers. That came about after the 2002 All-Star Game, played in then-commissioner Bud Selig’s hometown of Milwaukee, ended in a tie after 11 innings because both teams ran out of pitchers.
Selig wanted to make sure there would never be another embarrassing situation like that again and even came up with the ill-advised idea of tying home-field advantage in the World Series to the winning league for a spell.
The hard part to understand in this year’s selections is how Major League Baseball marginalized relief pitchers in an era when teams use their bullpens more than ever. There were just three relievers on the NL’s original roster and Vazquez made it four when he was named as an injury replacement.
NL manager Dave Roberts had starting pitchers cover 23 of the NL’s 24 outs. So much for bullpenning.
• The Pirates had a third All-Star as their director of sports medicine, Todd Tomczyk, was one of the NL’s two trainers. It was a great honor for a good guy who is excellent at his job.
• One of the neater things about the two days here was seeing Class AAA Indianapolis assistant hitting coach Jonathan Schwind get his moment in the spotlight as Bell’s pitcher in the Derby.
Even though his man exited in the first round, Schwind couldn’t stop smiling after the event ended and he was surrounded by reporters.
Schwind was the Pirates’ 41st-round pick in the 2011 amateur draft from Marist College. That is the same year the Pirates chose Gerrit Cole with the first overall pick and Bell in the second round.
Despite being such a low pick, Schwind was able to squeeze out seven minor-league seasons before his career ended in 2017. The Pirates thought highly enough of him to make him a coach.
Guys like Schwind usually go unnoticed, so it was nice to see him get his 4 1/2 minutes of fame throwing to Bell.
• It’s a Pittsburgh thing to rag on Cleveland, make “Mistake on the Lake” jokes, and all that other silly stuff.
However, there was no reason to make fun of Cleveland this week. The city and the host Indians put on a great show and should be proud. Furthermore, Clevelanders couldn’t have been more hospitable.
All in all, it was quite an enjoyable experience.
