[Terry D]

Terry Bell, a six-foot, 195-pound catcher out of Dayton, Ohio, was drafted by Oakland in 1980 but didn't sign. He was drafted again by the Mariners in '83, signed, and spent a couple of years in the M's chain. The Mariners dealt him to Kansas City in 1986 for relief pitcher Mark Huismann, which suggests that someone must have regarded him as a prospect. I can't imagine why. I have looked at Bell's minor league stats, and they are so unimpressive that I can't think of a single thing to say about them. Bell got a cup of Mocha Java with the '86 Royals. In 1987 the Royals, having rather needlessly lost faith in Dan Quisenberry, acquired aged reliever Gene Garber from Atlanta. Who did they deal to get Garber? Why, Terry Bell, of course. Again, I have no clue why Atlanta would have wanted him. Bell got one hitless at bat for the wretched '87 Braves, never played in the majors again, and retired after the '89 season. There is a color card image of Bell with the '88 Greenville Braves out there which shows him wearing an Atlanta helmet, but the attached photo of him with the 1987 Braves is the only certified Atlanta image of him which I have seen so far. The photo comes from the Fritsch postcard collection on ebay,