Bell takes over club with league's worst record
ESPN.com news services
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals hired Cleveland Indians bench coach Buddy Bell as their manager Tuesday, three weeks after Tony Pena resigned.
Bell's contract with Kansas City runs through the 2007 season. He will be in uniform when the Royals begin a series with the New York Yankees tonight, ESPN Insider Jerry Crasnick reports.
General manager Allard Baird told ESPN.com that he was prepared to wait until the end of the season to hire a new manager, but said he decided to act quickly because he was convinced Bell was the right fit for the organization.
"We're in a rebuilding mode," Baird said, "and it's all about direction, development and winning ball games. Buddy has been involved in a rebuilding mode in Cleveland for a couple of years, and he has a presence about him. "The other thing I like is that he was brought to the big leagues at 20 years old, and by age 21 he was on his first All-Star team. He knows the challenges for young kids, and we have a lot of 21, 22 and 23 year-old kids." Baird also said that Bob Schaefer, who had been serving as interim manager, will return to his job as bench coach under Bell.
Bell, 53, beat out Art Howe, Jerry Manuel, Terry Collins and Schaefer for the job. The position became vacant when Pena, who managed the Royals for two-plus seasons, resigned May 10 after the Royals got off to an 8-25 start. The Royals were 5-12 under Schaefer.
Bell has a career record of 345-462 in two previous managerial stops with the Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies.
Bell takes over a team that has the worst record in baseball (13-37). The Royals are 20½ games behind the Chicago White Sox in the American League Central, and have lost six straight.
"This will be a great loss to our major league team and organization, but we're ecstatic for Buddy," Indians general manager Mark Shapiro said. "This is a great opportunity that he wanted and that we are confident he will succeed in."
Information from The Associated Press was also used in this report.
