Rangers History Today: The Buddy Bell Trade

On this date, Texas and Cleveland traded third basemen, both of which are considered among the best players in the history of both franchises.

On this date in Texas Rangers history, the Rangers and the Cleveland Indians swapped infielders, both of which were mainstays in the 1970s.

On Dec. 8, 1978, the Rangers sent Toby Harrah to Cleveland for Buddy Bell. By this point, Harrah was now the Rangers’ regular third baseman, while Bell was Cleveland’s regular third baseman.

Harrah, 29 at the time, had been with the Rangers since 1969, when they were in Washington. He earned three All-Star nods, including the first after the Rangers moved to Arlington in 1972. He finished 15th in American League Most Valuable Player voting in 1975, when he hit .293 with 20 home runs and 93 RBI.

Bell was a bit younger, 26, but had been with Cleveland for seven seasons. In 1973 he was an AL All-Star.

The Rangers ended up with an ascendant player. From 1979-84, Bell was a four-time AL All-Star, a six-time Gold Glove selection, a Silver Slugger and was 10th in MVP voting in 1979. Harrah, meanwhile, was steady for the next six seasons in Cleveland, where he was a 1982 All-Star. That season he had a career-high .304 batting average.

While both left Arlington—the Rangers traded Bell to his hometown Cincinnati Reds in 1985—the two ended their careers in Texas. Harrah returned to the Rangers in 1985 and played two seasons before retiring and becoming a bench coach under Bobby Valentine. He briefly managed the team on an interim basis in 1992.

Bell returned to Texas in 1989 and played 34 games before retiring.

Both are in the Rangers Hall of Fame.

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