The D-backs arrived in Miami in the wee hours Thursday morning and Bell took a cab to Marlins Park, bought a ticket at the window and sat and watched the Marlins battle the Reds. After struggling mightily with the Marlins last year, Bell was heavily booed when he would come in to pitch and he expects a similar reception this weekend, but Thursday he sat among the fans in peace.
Why go to a baseball game on your day off?
“Why not go to the game?” Bell said. “Just bought a ticket and stayed low key. I didn’t wear a hat. I think with a hat, people would have recognized me more. We always watch games, but it’s just different to watch the game in the stands. Watching a game from the stands is just completely different from what we usually do. It’s almost like you want to go play, but you can’t. You have to wait a day.”
In all fairness, Heath, it’s easy to go unrecognized when nobody is around you.
While Bell did put a few dollars in Jeffrey Loria’s pocket on Thursday, the Marlins are paying $4 million of his $8.5 million salary this season. That technically makes him the team’s second-highest paid player behind right-hander Ricky Nolasco.