Jay Bell Talks Life In The Steroid Era, New Role As Bucs Hitting Coach
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) -- Former all-star Pirates shortstop and new Bucs hitting coach Jay Bell joined The Fan Morning Show on Thursday to talk about settling into his new role, and to give his take on Wednesday's Baseball Hall of Fame voting.
Bell acknowledged that he wouldn't have voted for Roger Clemens or former teammate Barry Bonds this year, but felt that they were certainly two of the best players in the history of the game.
"The years I played with Barry in Pittsburgh, there was not a better player in baseball," Bell said. "I watched him dominate games. And so there's not a doubt in my mind that he and Roger [Clemens] were both two of the best players that have ever played the game."
Bell explained that the key to playing in the steroid era was keeping your head down.
"It's not the greater percentage of players that did it. It's not that greater percentage of players that are the jerks. But the ones who stand out are," Bell said. "You can't do anything about it anyway, so why worry about it?"
He said that he would expect the steroid users that had great careers to have mixed feelings about what they did.
"A lot of those guys that were busted- they're going to look back, and they may be pleased with some of their accomplishments, but they won't be proud of what they did," Bell said.
As for looking at this current Pirates team and their offense, one struggle at the plate stuck out to him more than any other.
"One was batting average with runners in scoring position- situational stuff," Bell said, adding that the issue is even simpler than that. "I don't care if you get a base hit out of it. I just want that runner scored."
He also said he loves the team's potential for hitting for power at PNC Park.
The interview can be heard here:
