Bell's Earned It
By JIM STONE
Updated 1:30 PM PST, Mon, Jul 6, 2009
Heath Bell's 23rd save helped the Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday and helped him become an All-Star for the first time.
"Any time you're an All-Star. It goes back to being selected to the WBC team. Now this," said manager Bud Black."He's earned it."
Bell took it a step further. "I think I'll be grinning from ear to ear when the All-Star break comes and I'm off to St. Louis," he said. "But we still have a week to go."
A week for Adrian Gonzalez to prepare him for what to expect.
After all, Adrian's headed to his second straight All-Star game.
"I know how it was last year, and I'm very excited for him," Gonzalez said. "We're going to have a ton of fun together."
Bell only wishes the man he replaced, the Brewers' Trevor Hoffman, would be in that National League bullpen with him.
"He congratulated me. He called me," said Bell. "Part of this, me going to the All-Star game is the way he goes about his business....influencing me a little bit."
Heath Bell has learned from the best, and this season might end up being the best closer in the game.
First Published: Jul 6, 2009 1:07 PM PST
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