Derek Bell - Timeline

Astros Trades & Transactions

Dec 28, 1994: Traded Ken Caminiti(IF), Andujar Cedeno(IF), Steve Finley(OF), Roberto Petagine(IF), Brian Williams(P) and Sean Fesh(P) to SD-N for Derek Bell(OF), Doug Brocail(P), Ricky Gutierrez(IF), Pedro Martinez(P), Phil Plantier(OF), and Craig Shipley(IF). SD received Fesh on May 1 1995

Dec 23, 1999: Traded Mike Hampton(P) and Derek Bell(OF) to NY-N for Octavio Dotel(P), Roger Cedeno(OF), and Kyle Kessel(P)

This Date in Astros History

Dec 28, 1994: In one of the biggest player swaps in baseball history, the Astros send infielders Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno and Roberto Petagine, outfielder Steve Finley and pitchers Brian Williams and Sean Fesh to San Diego for infielders Craig Shipley and Ricky Gutierrez, outfielders Derek Bell and Phil Plantier and pitchers Doug Brocail and Pedro Martinez. It's a thinly-disguised salary dump and, were it not for Bell's success, would have been regarded as one of the worst trades in club history. Caminiti and Finley blossom into All-Stars who lead the Padres to the N.L. title in 1998. Bell and Gutierrez are the only salvagable parts for the Astros and they are both gone after the 1999 season.

Apr 26, 1995: "Play Ball" never sounded so good. The Astros open the strike-delayed season with a 10-2 victory in San Diego. Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell and Phil Plantier start the campaign with home runs. Doug Drabek works five innings for the win. Although over 41,000 attend, baseball's attendance plummets as resentment over the strike lingers.

Jun 23, 1995: Derek Bell caps a four-hit night with the game-winning RBI as he drives home Brian Hunter for a 3-2, twelve-inning triumph over the Cubs. Craig Shipley had tied it in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly off Randy Myers. Todd Jones fans five of the seven Chicagoans he faces to get the victory.

Jul 3, 1995: Andres Galarraga of Colorado goes 6-for-6 with two homers and five RBIs as the Rockies take a 15-10 slugfest over Houston at Coors Field. Derek Bell and James Mouton go deep for the Astros but it's not enough to offset the 21-hit assault of Colorado.

Aug 4, 1995: Houston sweeps a twinbill at Pittsburgh, 6-5 and 5-4. James Mouton singles home Orlando Miller in the ninth to win the opener while Derek Bell caps a 5-for-9 day with a home run and a double to pace the Astros in the nightcap.

Aug 29, 1995: Tony Eusebio's 13th-inning blast stuns the Braves, 11-9, snapping a team-record eleven-game losing streak. Brian Hunter, Derrick May, Derek Bell and Mike Simms also homer. Once behind, 6-0, Houston rallies but blows a 9-7 lead in the ninth. Greg Swindell wins his 100th game with two relief innings.

Apr 12, 1996: Todd Jones blows the save but gets the win in a 10-8, ten-inning triumph at Cincinnati. Jones gives up a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth to Jeff Branson but Derek Bell comes through with a two-run double in the extra frame.

Apr 19, 1996: Houston batters Cincinnati, 13-5, on 18 hits. Sean Berry has three hits and five RBIs. Derek Bell has four hits while four other Astros enjoy multi-hit evenings.

Apr 21, 1996: For the third time that season, Todd Jones blows the save and gets the win. Each time, Derek Bell is his savior. Bell's three-run homer in the eighth rescues a 7-5 victory over Cincinnati. Brian Hunter chips in with three hits. Jones has a rather undeserving 3-0 record.

May 3, 1996: Craig Biggio and Derek Bell blast homers to lead a 4-1 win over Montreal. Tony Eusebio adds three hits. Shane Reynolds increases his record to 5-1, surrendering three hits over seven innings.

May 9, 1996: Astros tally in six different innings during an 11-4 trouncing in Montreal. Derek Bell leads the 18-hit attack with four hits while Sean Berry drives in four. Berry, Jeff Bagwell and Orlando Miller chip in three hits apiece.

Jul 21, 1996: Derek Bell singles home James Mouton with the game-winner for the second straight night as the Astros clip the Braves, 4-3, in ten innings. Greg Maddux was the victim the previous night and Brad Clontz gets deja vu in this one. Mike Simms belts a two-run homer for Houston.

Apr 2, 1997: Houston bunches six hits off Greg Maddux in the third inning and holds on for a 4-3 victory. Derek Bell's two-run double is the key blow. Mike Hampton picks up the win against Atlanta.

Jun 17, 1997: The Astros break open a scoreless tie with six runs in the fifth to pound the Kansas City Royals, 10-2. Ramon Garcia, Jose Lima and Billy Wagner combine on a four-hitter. Craig Biggio,.Derek Bell and Sean Berry have three hits apiece.

Jul 6, 1997: Tony Eusebio singles home Derek Bell in the bottom of the ninth to upend Cincinnati, 6-5. Jeff Bagwell wallops two home runs and drives in four to pace the Astro attack. Luis Gonzalez also homers. Deion Sanders takes Mike Hampton deep to tie the game at five all.

Aug 22, 1997: Darryl Kile improves his record to 17-3 with a 9-1 victory over the Rockies. His ERA shrinks to 2.28. Kile adds a run-scoring single to a six-run sixth inning. Tim Bogar's two-run triple and Derek Bell's two-run double also highlight the frame. In the ninth, Mike Magnante ties a major-league record by striking out the side on nine pitches. He's the third Astro to accomplish this feat.

Sep 12, 1997: Derek Bell drives in four to pace the Astros over Los Angeles, 10-3. His two-run homer may have been to cover the embarrassment of being caught off first earlier on a throw by Raul Mondesi. Ricky Gutierrez plates three to help the cause. Houston leads the N.L. Central by 3-1/2 games over Pittsburgh, yet are only two games over .500 at 74-72.

Apr 3, 1998: It's not in Colorado, but the Astros club the Rockies as if it was, 15-2. Derek Bell, now hitting in front of Jeff Bagwell in the lineup, drives in six and keys a seven-run uprising to put the game away.

Apr 26, 1998: Former Expos Sean Berry and Moises Alou lead a 15-0 thrashing in Montreal. Alou homers and drives in five runs while Berry and Richard Hidalgo each deliver four hits. Derek Bell also belts a home run. Sean Bergman is the beneficiary as Houston tallies in six of the nine frames.

May 6, 1998: In perhaps the most dominant pitching performance of all time, Cubs rookie Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Astros en route to a 2-0 shutout. Ricky Gutierrez' third-inning single is the lone Houston hit. Wood walks none and hits one batter. Derek Bell is the final victim as Wood sets a National League single-game strikeout mark, tying Roger Clemens for the major league record.

Jun 8, 1998: The Astros greet Todd Jones with five runs in the ninth to bite the Detroit Tigers, 9-5. Doubles by Derek Bell and Carl Everett are the key blows. Everett had homered earlier and notches four RBIs on the night.

Jul 23, 1998: Down 6-0 in Los Angeles after the first inning, Houston rallies for five in the eighth to tie the game then tallies twice more in the tenth for an 8-6 comeback win. Moises Alou's two-run homer leads the charge. Ricky Gutierrez draws a bases-loaded walk for the game-winner then Derek Bell singles home an insurance run.

Aug 8, 1998: Mark Leiter plunks Richard Hidalgo with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, sending home Derek Bell for a 7-6 stunner over the Phillies. Bobby Estellela had just gone deep off Doug Henry to put the Phils up, 6-5. Instead, Henry gets the win.

Aug 31, 1998: Five straight Houston singles in the top of the ninth tie the Braves, 3-3, then Brad Ausmus delivers Derek Bell with the game-winner for a 4-3 shocker. Jay Powell takes the win in relief while Billy Wagner racks up his 26th save.

Sep 7, 1998: Randy Johnson fires a six-hit shutout, 1-0, over Cincinnati to sport a record of 7-1 with a 1.00 ERA since his midseason trade from Seattle. He fans 14. Derek Bell supplies the game's only run with a solo shot off Steve Parris in the sixth.

Sep 8, 1998: Jeff Bagwell launches his first career grand slam and drives in six as Houston mauls the Reds, 13-7. Bagwell and Derek Bell contribute three hits apiece. Sean Bergman picks up the victory.

Oct 1, 1998: Bill Spiers singles home Ricky Gutierrez in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 victory over San Diego in Game Two of the N.L.D.S. Jeff Bagwell brings home the first three runs while Derek Bell adds a solo shot. A two-run homer by Jim Leyritz ties it for the Padres, setting up the dramatic end. The series is tied at 1-1.

Dec 13, 1998: Efforts to bring Texas legend Roger Clemens to the Astros collapse in spectacular fashion when General Manager Gerry Hunsicker blasts additional contract demands made by Clemens' Houston-based agents during a press conference at the winter meetings. It was a rare stipulation in Clemens' contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that allowed him to demand a trade. The Astros are willing to part with outfielder Derek Bell and pitcher Scott Elarton among others to acquire Clemens until they are informed the pitcher is also demanding a $43 million dollar contract extension rather than the $16 million dollars left on his two-year deal. Talks quickly reduce to name-calling. Owner Drayton McLane says he still hopes to make a deal but decides to stand with his negotiators. Ten days later, Clemens withdraws the trade demand but later invokes it when a deal is arranged with the New York Yankees.

May 20, 1999: Billy Wagner surrenders two homers but hangs on for a 4-3, ten-inning victory in Los Angeles. A double by Derek Bell and a sacrifice fly by Ken Caminiti in the tenth salvage the win after light-hitting Tripp Cromer took Wagner deep with two down in the bottom of the ninth.

Jun 13, 1999: Astros manager Larry Dierker collapses in the dugout due to a seizure during the eighth inning of a home game against San Diego. Houston has a 4-0 lead thanks to a grand slam by Derek Bell. Dierker misses only 27 games despite undergoing brain surgery. The game is suspended until July 23rd when the Astros complete the 4-3 victory.

Jul 4, 1999: Surprising everyone by batting lefthanded against lefty Steve Avery, switch-hitter Carl Everett blasts a two-run homer to spark a 5-3 win in Cincinnati that pulls Houston into a tie for the division lead. Derek Bell also goes deep.

Jul 17, 1999: Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell launch solo homers in the eighth to tie Detroit, 2-2. Derek Bell draws a bases-loaded walk off Todd Jones in the tenth for a 3-2 victory. Biggio, who contributes three hits, scores the game-winner.

Jul 31, 1999: Jeff Bagwell and rookie Lance Berkman swat two home runs apiece as the Astros club the Padres, 8-5. Berkman has three hits and steals a base. Derek Bell accounts for the other two runs with a double. Doug Henry gets the win in relief.

Dec 23, 1999: Lefthander Mike Hampton and outfielder Derek Bell are traded to the Mets for pitcher Octavio Dotel and outfielder Roger Cedeno. It's primarily a financial move that causes the Astros to part with their 22-game winner. While Dotel would flourish, Cedeno would be gone after one season in Houston, batting .282 in 74 games.

Dec 28, 1994:	Traded Ken Caminiti(IF), Andujar Cedeno(IF), Steve Finley(OF), Roberto Petagine(IF), Brian Williams(P) and Sean Fesh(P) to SD-N for Derek Bell(OF), Doug Brocail(P), Ricky Gutierrez(IF), Pedro Martinez(P), Phil Plantier(OF), and Craig Shipley(IF). SD received Fesh on May 1 1995
Dec 23, 1999:	Traded Mike Hampton(P) and Derek Bell(OF) to NY-N for Octavio Dotel(P), Roger Cedeno(OF), and Kyle Kessel(P)

Dec 28, 1994:	In one of the biggest player swaps in baseball history, the Astros send infielders Ken Caminiti, Andujar Cedeno and Roberto Petagine, outfielder Steve Finley and pitchers Brian Williams and Sean Fesh to San Diego for infielders Craig Shipley and Ricky Gutierrez, outfielders Derek Bell and Phil Plantier and pitchers Doug Brocail and Pedro Martinez. It's a thinly-disguised salary dump and, were it not for Bell's success, would have been regarded as one of the worst trades in club history. Caminiti and Finley blossom into All-Stars who lead the Padres to the N.L. title in 1998. Bell and Gutierrez are the only salvagable parts for the Astros and they are both gone after the 1999 season.
Apr 26, 1995:	"Play Ball" never sounded so good. The Astros open the strike-delayed season with a 10-2 victory in San Diego. Jeff Bagwell, Derek Bell and Phil Plantier start the campaign with home runs. Doug Drabek works five innings for the win. Although over 41,000 attend, baseball's attendance plummets as resentment over the strike lingers.
Jun 23, 1995:	Derek Bell caps a four-hit night with the game-winning RBI as he drives home Brian Hunter for a 3-2, twelve-inning triumph over the Cubs. Craig Shipley had tied it in the bottom of the ninth with a sacrifice fly off Randy Myers. Todd Jones fans five of the seven Chicagoans he faces to get the victory.
Jul 3, 1995:	Andres Galarraga of Colorado goes 6-for-6 with two homers and five RBIs as the Rockies take a 15-10 slugfest over Houston at Coors Field. Derek Bell and James Mouton go deep for the Astros but it's not enough to offset the 21-hit assault of Colorado.
Aug 4, 1995:	Houston sweeps a twinbill at Pittsburgh, 6-5 and 5-4. James Mouton singles home Orlando Miller in the ninth to win the opener while Derek Bell caps a 5-for-9 day with a home run and a double to pace the Astros in the nightcap.
Aug 29, 1995:	Tony Eusebio's 13th-inning blast stuns the Braves, 11-9, snapping a team-record eleven-game losing streak. Brian Hunter, Derrick May, Derek Bell and Mike Simms also homer. Once behind, 6-0, Houston rallies but blows a 9-7 lead in the ninth. Greg Swindell wins his 100th game with two relief innings.
Apr 12, 1996:	Todd Jones blows the save but gets the win in a 10-8, ten-inning triumph at Cincinnati. Jones gives up a two-out homer in the bottom of the ninth to Jeff Branson but Derek Bell comes through with a two-run double in the extra frame.
Apr 19, 1996:	Houston batters Cincinnati, 13-5, on 18 hits. Sean Berry has three hits and five RBIs. Derek Bell has four hits while four other Astros enjoy multi-hit evenings.
Apr 21, 1996:	For the third time that season, Todd Jones blows the save and gets the win. Each time, Derek Bell is his savior. Bell's three-run homer in the eighth rescues a 7-5 victory over Cincinnati. Brian Hunter chips in with three hits. Jones has a rather undeserving 3-0 record.
May 3, 1996:	Craig Biggio and Derek Bell blast homers to lead a 4-1 win over Montreal. Tony Eusebio adds three hits. Shane Reynolds increases his record to 5-1, surrendering three hits over seven innings.
May 9, 1996:	Astros tally in six different innings during an 11-4 trouncing in Montreal. Derek Bell leads the 18-hit attack with four hits while Sean Berry drives in four. Berry, Jeff Bagwell and Orlando Miller chip in three hits apiece.
Jul 21, 1996:	Derek Bell singles home James Mouton with the game-winner for the second straight night as the Astros clip the Braves, 4-3, in ten innings. Greg Maddux was the victim the previous night and Brad Clontz gets deja vu in this one. Mike Simms belts a two-run homer for Houston.
Apr 2, 1997:	Houston bunches six hits off Greg Maddux in the third inning and holds on for a 4-3 victory. Derek Bell's two-run double is the key blow. Mike Hampton picks up the win against Atlanta.
Jun 17, 1997:	The Astros break open a scoreless tie with six runs in the fifth to pound the Kansas City Royals, 10-2. Ramon Garcia, Jose Lima and Billy Wagner combine on a four-hitter. Craig Biggio,.Derek Bell and Sean Berry have three hits apiece.
Jul 6, 1997:	Tony Eusebio singles home Derek Bell in the bottom of the ninth to upend Cincinnati, 6-5. Jeff Bagwell wallops two home runs and drives in four to pace the Astro attack. Luis Gonzalez also homers. Deion Sanders takes Mike Hampton deep to tie the game at five all.
Aug 22, 1997:	Darryl Kile improves his record to 17-3 with a 9-1 victory over the Rockies. His ERA shrinks to 2.28. Kile adds a run-scoring single to a six-run sixth inning. Tim Bogar's two-run triple and Derek Bell's two-run double also highlight the frame. In the ninth, Mike Magnante ties a major-league record by striking out the side on nine pitches. He's the third Astro to accomplish this feat.
Sep 12, 1997:	Derek Bell drives in four to pace the Astros over Los Angeles, 10-3. His two-run homer may have been to cover the embarrassment of being caught off first earlier on a throw by Raul Mondesi. Ricky Gutierrez plates three to help the cause. Houston leads the N.L. Central by 3-1/2 games over Pittsburgh, yet are only two games over .500 at 74-72.
Apr 3, 1998:	It's not in Colorado, but the Astros club the Rockies as if it was, 15-2. Derek Bell, now hitting in front of Jeff Bagwell in the lineup, drives in six and keys a seven-run uprising to put the game away.
Apr 26, 1998:	Former Expos Sean Berry and Moises Alou lead a 15-0 thrashing in Montreal. Alou homers and drives in five runs while Berry and Richard Hidalgo each deliver four hits. Derek Bell also belts a home run. Sean Bergman is the beneficiary as Houston tallies in six of the nine frames.
May 6, 1998:	In perhaps the most dominant pitching performance of all time, Cubs rookie Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Astros en route to a 2-0 shutout. Ricky Gutierrez' third-inning single is the lone Houston hit. Wood walks none and hits one batter. Derek Bell is the final victim as Wood sets a National League single-game strikeout mark, tying Roger Clemens for the major league record.
Jun 8, 1998:	The Astros greet Todd Jones with five runs in the ninth to bite the Detroit Tigers, 9-5. Doubles by Derek Bell and Carl Everett are the key blows. Everett had homered earlier and notches four RBIs on the night.
Jul 23, 1998:	Down 6-0 in Los Angeles after the first inning, Houston rallies for five in the eighth to tie the game then tallies twice more in the tenth for an 8-6 comeback win. Moises Alou's two-run homer leads the charge. Ricky Gutierrez draws a bases-loaded walk for the game-winner then Derek Bell singles home an insurance run.
Aug 8, 1998:	Mark Leiter plunks Richard Hidalgo with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, sending home Derek Bell for a 7-6 stunner over the Phillies. Bobby Estellela had just gone deep off Doug Henry to put the Phils up, 6-5. Instead, Henry gets the win.
Aug 31, 1998:	Five straight Houston singles in the top of the ninth tie the Braves, 3-3, then Brad Ausmus delivers Derek Bell with the game-winner for a 4-3 shocker. Jay Powell takes the win in relief while Billy Wagner racks up his 26th save.
Sep 7, 1998:	Randy Johnson fires a six-hit shutout, 1-0, over Cincinnati to sport a record of 7-1 with a 1.00 ERA since his midseason trade from Seattle. He fans 14. Derek Bell supplies the game's only run with a solo shot off Steve Parris in the sixth.
Sep 8, 1998:	Jeff Bagwell launches his first career grand slam and drives in six as Houston mauls the Reds, 13-7. Bagwell and Derek Bell contribute three hits apiece. Sean Bergman picks up the victory.
Oct 1, 1998:	Bill Spiers singles home Ricky Gutierrez in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 victory over San Diego in Game Two of the N.L.D.S. Jeff Bagwell brings home the first three runs while Derek Bell adds a solo shot. A two-run homer by Jim Leyritz ties it for the Padres, setting up the dramatic end. The series is tied at 1-1.
Dec 13, 1998:	Efforts to bring Texas legend Roger Clemens to the Astros collapse in spectacular fashion when General Manager Gerry Hunsicker blasts additional contract demands made by Clemens' Houston-based agents during a press conference at the winter meetings. It was a rare stipulation in Clemens' contract with the Toronto Blue Jays that allowed him to demand a trade. The Astros are willing to part with outfielder Derek Bell and pitcher Scott Elarton among others to acquire Clemens until they are informed the pitcher is also demanding a $43 million dollar contract extension rather than the $16 million dollars left on his two-year deal. Talks quickly reduce to name-calling. Owner Drayton McLane says he still hopes to make a deal but decides to stand with his negotiators. Ten days later, Clemens withdraws the trade demand but later invokes it when a deal is arranged with the New York Yankees.
May 20, 1999:	Billy Wagner surrenders two homers but hangs on for a 4-3, ten-inning victory in Los Angeles. A double by Derek Bell and a sacrifice fly by Ken Caminiti in the tenth salvage the win after light-hitting Tripp Cromer took Wagner deep with two down in the bottom of the ninth.
Jun 13, 1999:	Astros manager Larry Dierker collapses in the dugout due to a seizure during the eighth inning of a home game against San Diego. Houston has a 4-0 lead thanks to a grand slam by Derek Bell. Dierker misses only 27 games despite undergoing brain surgery. The game is suspended until July 23rd when the Astros complete the 4-3 victory.
Jul 4, 1999:	Surprising everyone by batting lefthanded against lefty Steve Avery, switch-hitter Carl Everett blasts a two-run homer to spark a 5-3 win in Cincinnati that pulls Houston into a tie for the division lead. Derek Bell also goes deep.
Jul 17, 1999:	Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell launch solo homers in the eighth to tie Detroit, 2-2. Derek Bell draws a bases-loaded walk off Todd Jones in the tenth for a 3-2 victory. Biggio, who contributes three hits, scores the game-winner.
Jul 31, 1999:	Jeff Bagwell and rookie Lance Berkman swat two home runs apiece as the Astros club the Padres, 8-5. Berkman has three hits and steals a base. Derek Bell accounts for the other two runs with a double. Doug Henry gets the win in relief.
Dec 23, 1999:	Lefthander Mike Hampton and outfielder Derek Bell are traded to the Mets for pitcher Octavio Dotel and outfielder Roger Cedeno. It's primarily a financial move that causes the Astros to part with their 22-game winner. While Dotel would flourish, Cedeno would be gone after one season in Houston, batting .282 in 74 games.