Blue Jays Star Made MLB History in Bizarre Fashion 36 Years Ago Today

George Bell drove in three runs for Toronto on Aug. 14, 1990, without recording an RBI on either of his two hits.

Josh Donaldson is presented with a plaque to commemorate his 2015 American League MVP award by George Bell | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

On Aug. 14, 1990, George Bell went 2-for-2 and drove in three runs for the Toronto Blue Jays. The strange part of the stat line was that neither of his two hits drove in a run.

Instead, Bell produced all three RBI on sacrifice flies during Toronto's 12–4 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Comiskey Park, tying the MLB record for most sacrifice flies in a single game. It was hardly the sort of record Bell built his reputation on, but it added another unusual entry to an already memorable career.

Baseball is a sport where even the best hitters get out far more often than they get hits. Bell found an unusually productive way to make his outs that afternoon.

Three times he came to the plate with a chance to do damage and instead walked back to the dugout without a hit. Each time, though, a teammate crossed home plate before Bell made the walk back.

Bell's Unusual Methods

George Bell throws out the opening pitch to Jose Bautista before their game against the New York Yankees | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bell accounted for three of Toronto's four sacrifice flies that afternoon, with the team total still tied for the most in a single game in franchise history.

The offense was clicking in a more traditional sense, too. Glenallen Hill hit a grand slam, while Fred McGriff added a home run as Toronto piled up 12 runs. Todd Stottlemyre made sure the White Sox couldn't keep pace, allowing only two hits across seven scoreless innings.

Bell was plenty familiar with the more traditional home-run trot. Three years earlier, he had won the 1987 American League MVP award after hitting .308 with 47 home runs and 134 RBI. His power had tapered off by 1990, but on this afternoon, he found a much stranger route to the RBI column.

Bell's competitive streak extended well beyond one unusual afternoon. In a 1987 interview with the Los Angeles Times, he credited his father with instilling that mentality from an early age.

“Daddy made us aggressive in everything,” Bell said. “Even at school he told us we had to fight for what we thought.”

That approach helped make Bell one of the first stars in Blue Jays history. He finished his Toronto career with 202 home runs and 740 RBI, eventually becoming a member of the franchise's Level of Excellence in 1996.

More than three decades later, his name still appears throughout the Blue Jays' record book, including in corners a former MVP probably wouldn't expect.