The long layoff sure didn’t hurt George Bell.
Bell, the White Sox’s designated hitter, played in his first spring training game Wednesday and launched a rainbow of a home run in his first at bat off Cleveland left-hander Dennis Cook.
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The two-run homer traced the shape of the famed St. Louis arch and still traveled 20 feet beyond the 380 sign in left-centerfield at Chain-O-Lakes Park.
Doing it all: Before Wednesday’s game, Bell nudged aside pitching coach Jackie Brown and threw 10 minutes of batting practice. “I do that all the time,” said Bell, who doesn’t. The first batter he faced was Steve Sax, who had to jump out of the box on four consecutive inside pitches. Sax got his revenge when he came to the cage two turns later and hit a 390-foot home run and then launched a screaming line drive right back at Bell, who was saved by the pitching screen.
Oh, yeah, the score: Unfortunately for the Sox, the Indians made batting practice last all afternoon. Cleveland had 17 hits, including four home runs, and crushed the Sox 20-6. Jeff Treadway and Paul Sorrento each homered and each drove in three runs to lead the slaughter. “It wasn’t pretty out there, was it?” said Sox manager Gene Lamont.
Good news Sox: Despite the lopsided score, the Sox managed 16 hits of their own to raise their team batting average this spring to .378. Shortstop Ozzie Guillen and center-fielder Lance Johnson each had three hits, while Bo Jackson, Shawn Gilbert, Warren Newson and Steve Sax had two apiece.