The David Bell era ends after 6 disappointing years.
David Bell was relieved of his duties on Sunday after compiling a 76-81 record in 2024. While 5 games were remaining on the schedule at the time of this firing, a winning season had already been ruled out.
Bell's Tenure As A Red
In 2019, David Bell took over for Jim Riggleman as the 62nd manager in Reds history. Bell held the title for 6 seasons, leading the team to an uninspiring record of 409 - 456. Bell finishes as the 5th longest-tenured manager in team history. Bell was ejected from more games than any manager in Reds history with 32 heave-hos. He is also the only manager in the top-10 of games managed for the Reds to have a losing record.
Bell took over during a competitive landscape in 2019 with names on the roster such as Luis Castillo, Trevor Bauer, Eugenio Suarez, Scooter Gennett, Joey Votto, and Sonny Gray. This is where we push back on any arguments that the front office never provided Bell any players to work with. It is a poor excuse and simply is not true. The team finished 4th in the NL Central that season at 75 - 87. But hey, rookie manager, right? Fair enough.
While the team squeaked into the expanded 2020 playoffs with a record of 31 - 29, it was an embarrassing result as the Reds were swept by the Braves without scoring a run. The lack of preparedness and discipline shown by the team in the 2020 playoffs concerned us, but hey, strange Covid-shortened season, right? Fine.
Following the 2020 embarrassment of the playoffs, the team showed slight improvement, finishing 83 - 79. A winning record! Barely, however. This was Bell's first "normal" season, so hopefully, things improve from here, right? Unfortunately no, the team took a major step back in 2022 finishing at a woeful 62 - 100 record. The first 100-loss season in 40 years. Ouch. This was the season Bell had the team storming out of the gates with a 3 - 22 record. We were calling for the replacement of Bell by this time, however, Bell was retained to oversee the roster transition to some up-and-coming rookies.
The Reds got off to another disastrous 7 -15 start in 2023, and it looked like Bell's days as manager were numbered. He was in the last year of his contract, so perhaps they should have been. However, the season was given new life with the promotions of exciting rookies Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz. The team started playing much better. The front office may have jumped the gun on this (we sure thought so at the time), but they were full of optimism and awarded Bell with a 3-year extension at the midway point of 2023. Now, just over a year later, the Reds will be paying Bell to NOT manage for two seasons. Just like we paid Shogo Akiyama and Mike Moustakas to not play... hey... maybe Nick Krall is part of the problem???
Time for a Change
As mentioned, Bell finishes as the 5th longest-tenured manager in team history. Of the 10 most tenured managers in the history of the team, he is the only one with a record below .500. Why did they keep him so long with poor results? It is a great question. It did not help that Bell is a local who is ingrained in Reds history and the Cincinnati community. A Moeller graduate, his brother Mike played for the Reds. His grandpa played for the Reds. His dad played for the Reds and served in the team's front office while David was manager (yikes). Throw in the Covid season and some roster rebuilding changes, and the front office must have felt that Bell should have a chance in a "normal" competitive season, which 2024 was supposed to be.
Yes, there were injuries to the team in 2024. However, every team must navigate injuries. There has been controversy surrounding Bell's decisions as manager ranging from his overuse of analytics, questionable clubhouse discipline, and recurring mistakes on the field. The team has looked lazy in day games and we mentioned Bell's consistently slow starts to the season. Unquestionably, there were major discipline, accountability, and performance issues on the field that should’ve been addressed, no matter which players were injured.
The team ranks dreadfully in defensive metrics and leads the majors in outs made on the base. Additionally, the Reds have a positive run differential despite a losing record, and also a 15-27 record in one-run games, which is second worst in the Major Leagues behind the lowly White Sox. The value of a manager can’t be truly quantified, but these are a few signs that paint a negative picture of Bell's performance.
Many argue that Bell was not given players to work with, and although he did have a great roster in 2019 and 2020, there may be some truth to that as the front office has been known to be unwilling to spend money on free agents, acquisitions, and roster improvements. However, no matter what the front office provided, there were recurring mistakes and a lack of discipline that should not ever occur on a major league field.
At a certain point, after so much losing, an organization must declare the need for a new voice or direction. In most cases, this comes in the form of firing the manager and bringing in a new culture, clubhouse presence, and hopefully some winning experience. While many can argue that the firing of David Bell was necessary going into 2025, the announcement's timing can definitely be questioned, which lends credence to the idea that the front office is not blameless in the team's issues. Normally, at this point, a team would just let the manager finish the year out and then address personnel changes in the offseason. GM Nick Krall did cite philosophical differences between him and Bell, which may have boiled over to result in his firing 5 games away from the season's end.
With the dismissal of Bell, there is some shifting of leadership around the dugout. Bench coach Freddie Benavides will be the interim manager. Game planning coach Jeff Pickler has also been fired along with Bell. Collin Cowgill moves from first base coach to third base. Coach Kyle Armstrong will become the new base first base coach. JR House moves from third base coach to the new bench coach, replacing Freddie Benavides.
Bell is undoubtedly a classy individual who stood up for his players and was well-liked in the baseball world. We wish him the best moving forward!
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